Chapters Three knocks sounded, and Zecora opened the door to her hut.
"Zecora, you have to help me!" said Twilight Sparkle, bursting her way into the tiny house and grabbing the zebra by the shoulders. Twilight's friend stared her dead in the eye, and an invisible force that felt like magnetic repulsion pushed her hooves off. Twilight cleared her throat and nervously rubbed one foreleg with a hoof.
Zecora broke into a smile. "Although you forget pleasantries, your needs seem dire, so present these," she said, motioning Twilight to a stool. Behind her, the door appeared to close by itself.
"Right! I'm sorry, I..." her voice trailed off as she sat down and stared into space for a moment. Then Twilight looked back to her friend and asked, "Zecora, have you ever heard of a place called Quifons ?"
"Ah, yes, that is the young ones' word! But truly, it is seldom heard, as children hide it as a sneeze. They say it when they shoot the breeze," said Zecora.
"So... It's some kind of code word foals use?" said Twilight, wearing a distinctly puzzled expression. "I'd never heard the word prior to yesterday. Maybe it's not my generation," said Twilight.
"Not to cause you consternation, but it's every generation," said Zecora.
Twilight's brow furrowed. "I don't think I understand, then. I'm looking for a place called Quifons."
Zecora shrugged. "Quifons a place? I do not know. No foal will say. No foal will show. Young zebra foals just sometimes say, 'quifons' to one another. They," said Zecora, taking a tiny pause for breath, "must have the word within their genes. Foals forget long before their teens."
Twilight paused a moment to digest the meaning. "Alright, let me pause you there. If I understand correctly, you're telling me that zebra foals sometimes make the sound 'quifons' to each other, when they converse?"
Zecora nodded.
"And it sounds like a sneeze, but it's a fake sneeze?"
Zecora nodded again.
Twilight Sparkle blinked a few times. "When zebra grow up, do they just decide to stop using the word because it's juvenile? Or are you saying that for some reason, they actually forget the word?" she asked.
"Zebra forget entirely . I can't recall, most certainly. Yet I've no doubt that it is true: I must have used that word once, too," said Zecora.
"They forget ever using the word at all? I'm... I'm stunned. That's so bizarre," said Twilight. "I heard about this yesterday from a gifted foal. He said he wasn't supposed to tell me what or where it was. The only reason he said anything about it was a prophecy he made about me ruining this Quifons thing, and he thought I might have known already because the Sisters apparently know what it is."
Zecora frowned and narrowed her eyes at Twilight Sparkle, but said nothing.
Twilight tried to ignore the look. "You know, this sounds a little like the Baybinski reflex. It's a hoof reflex that disappears after the first couple years of an equine's life, which I'm sure you already know. The difference here is that this thing sounds social . Reflexes aren't that stimulus selective, and sapient people don't even have fixed action patterns—we don't have 'instincts', I mean," said Twilight. "The only way this makes sense is if there's some unknown kind of magic involved in foal development. Pony society would have to have been blind to it for centuries, and that's hard to swallow given how heavily foal wellbeing has been researched. The most likely explanation is that—no offense, Zecora—you're actually wrong, and it is a sneeze. It's just more likely to happen when foals congregate. Oh, and the foal I mentioned is either insane, or messing with me, both of which seem plausible given my limited interactions with him. Are you certain it isn't a sneeze? How do you know?"
Zecora raised a brow, but nodded. "It is a fact that zebra kind host shamans, like me: those whose mind," she said, "is disciplined to notice when, what seems a reflex, hasn't been."
Twilight's eyes scanned the air in front of her like she was reading a book. "Do you have any idea whether or not it means anything?"
"Most utterances in the day, are between foals when they're at play. But beyond that? I cannot say."
"Have you tried asking them?" asked Twilight. "I mean, Zecora, this is really weird. If zebra know about this, I'd have to assume your people have investigated it further."
"They just say 'imagination'. It seems Quifons is no nation." Zecora paused for a moment, then added, "Zebra have always suspected magic quirks cause this direction. Our tries at investigation only bore equine frustration."
"That won't do. This is too important. I need to find out," said Twilight, unconsciously rocking in her stool. "Could you possibly take me back to my childhood? Like, with hypnosis or something? I'm sure I've never heard of Quifons before, but the evidence is starting to suggest that my certainty may be misplaced."
Zecora nodded. "I can make something that in truth, will cause you to regain your youth. For a few minutes, you will be your foal self... at least, mentally." She brewed a potion as Twilight patiently waited, steeped in furious but fruitless thoughts. It only took a few minutes for her friend to complete the task. To Twilight, it felt more like an hour.
"Don't think, just drink," said Zecora as she handed a large flagon of steaming, green brew to Twilight. It smelled faintly of cloves and metal. There was at least a third of a liter of the concoction. Twilight downed the entire thing in one long gulp, then belched and blushed.
"Eep! Excuse me," she said, with a sheepish smile. "Zecora, how long does it ta—whoa . Okay, this is pretty weird," said Twilight. "I'm starting to feel naive, so that's good. Wow, that was a hilar, a hilarsos, um... a real funny sentence," she said with a giggle. "I'm kind of disc, um, diskiebobble...? No, that word's also a little too big," she said. "Take notes if you can lady, I wanna remember stuff, okay?"
A strange joy and sense of mirth slowly filled Twilight's core. Being young again, even only in mind, was a remarkably pleasant experience, a feeling that Twilight had practically forgotten. Her adult worries and concerns melted away like hot butter, including her concerns about whatever this 'Quifons' thing was.
It was a short experience. Without warning, darkness enveloped Twilight's senses.
Twilight Sparkle awoke with a mild headache, staring up at the ceiling of Zecora's hut. Colorful, mildly creepy masks hung from above, like a disturbing infant crib mobile.
Fortunately, I'm not a kid anymore... well, not that I think, mused Twilight.
Twilight had lain down upon something soft, probably Zecora's bed. Her muscles ached as though she'd been applebucking the previous day.
"Ow. That's... ow," said Twilight.
Zecora loomed into view. "Please chew this root. Your pain will mute," she said.
Twilight didn't need to be told twice. The root was hoof-sized and the juices within it tasted like burned chalk, but she could feel it working almost immediately. Less than a minute later, her headache had faded to a dull ache that felt disconnected from the rest of her body. Her muscle soreness was slowly disappearing. In addition, a small amount of childlike euphoria had returned to her chest. It felt like a continual warm hug from a close friend. At this point, Twilight was fairly certain the plant had narcotic effects, but she kept sucking on it anyway.
Kneeling beside Twilight as the alicorn lifted herself up from the bed, Zecora rudely yanked the root from her mouth. "Don't chew too much, or you shall see this root's addictive property," she warned.
Twilight nodded with a glum expression. "Right, thank you. To be honest, the high isn't half as nice as it felt to be a child again," she said. "Oh, and unrelated, your bed is incredibly soft. I want one of these in my royal bedroom! Just, a lot larger." It appeared to be made from pegasus down and some kind of tree rubber, and Twilight mentally planned to get notes when she wasn't trying to 'not-destroy' what might be someplace she couldn't remember.
Zecora smiled. "It is for guests, as I have found I prefer sleeping on the ground."
"Wow. Well, give it a try sometime," said Twilight, with a chuckle. "So, the potion. Do you know what went wrong?"
The zebra raised a brow. "Nothing went wrong, my little horse. You can't recall, but then... of course. Nopony can remember well their youngest years, as time does tell." She hoofed Twilight sparkle a small piece of papyrus she'd been writing on. Twilight was impressed that Zecora knew how to write Ponish in such beautiful script. The letters were very clear, though a bit quirky like an unusual printing font.
I: "Twilight Sparkle, listen to me. I have a question which may be, rude to ask you but I must know: What is 'Quifons', from long ago?"
T: "Quifons? Um, I dunno?" (T sweating, nervous)
I: "Your adult self, she seeks dearly a question you should answer me. She thinks that Quifons is a place . Where and what is this secret space?"
T: "My adult self? Uh, that's impossible, weird zebra lady. It's not a place. I think you heard me sneeze maybe." (T constantly fidgeting, avoiding eye contact)
I: "Your secret would be safe with me. Just tell me, and I'll leave you be. I've heard foals uttering the word when playing games which seem absurd."
T: "Oh, that one! You mean the thing when we're playing. No, it's just an imagination thing, like 'Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake.' It doesn't mean nothing. Er, mean anything ." (T less nervous, more self-assured; also remarkably articulate, as expected)
I: "Nothing at all? This is a lie. Just tell me, and I'll say goodbye."
T: "I'm sorry lady. It really doesn't mean anything." (T appears sad, but anger clearly rising within her breast)
I: "What would you say to future you? What do you expect her to do? An older Twilight wants to know, but how can she when you dodge so?"
T: "Well... then m-maybe she shouldn't know!" (T very angry, powers up horn, I ready
"Sweet Celestia. I don't remember any of that! Why would young me be so desperate to keep this 'Quifons' thing a secret?" Twilight narrowed her eyes and tried to remember as much as she possibly could from her ordeal. "The last thing I recall... oh. Oh! I knew what Quifons was, I'm sure of it! I just can't remember now . This is incredibly frustrating. Hay, Zecora, how did you write so quickly?"
Zecora held up a separate piece of papyrus which contained what looked like a shorter, messier set of notes. "The final draft, I took my time. For half an hour, you slept sublime."
"Half an hour? Horse apples—oh, er, sorry," said Twilight, blushing. Zecora chuckled and attended to a partly-completed potion as Twilight sat on the bed in thought.
Twilight Sparkle jumped up with a start. "Zecora, I have an idea," said Twilight. "Can you do the Answering Potion again? You know, the one we made together to beat the vines?" She walked over to the table and sat on a firm stool in order to feed a nervous leg-bouncing stereotypy.
"One step ahead of you I am. The potion needs but just one gram..." said Zecora, adding a pinch of a deep violet powder. The potion bubbled in the glass flask, turning a rich shade of purple Twilight had seen only once before.
"Excellent!" said Twilight, with a bright smile, leaning forward on the table. "Oh, thank you so much. I can always count on you, Zecora."
"You must forgive my joking gripes, but please, don't waste time counting stripes," said Zecora, with a wink. She set the potion on a small table as Twilight giggled.
"Okay. This part, I already know," said Twilight. She focused on the liquid in the flask, and began summoning the darker side of magic needed to unlock the potion's true potential. She grunted as dark magic bubbled through and overtook her aura. A black and violet ray shot out of her horn, its unlight punching straight through the glass without leaving a physical mark. The potion turned white in a flash, as though a rapid chemical reaction had just taken place.
Twilight chewed at her lip as she thumped her leg against the floor. "I also remember that the potion only allows me to see the past experiences of ponies I'm close friends with. But that shouldn't be a problem. I suspect, as before, that Princess Celestia's past may hold the answer," said Twilight.
Zecora briefly frowned again, closed her eyes, and sighed. Then she spoke, "Focus on your question true, and take a sip of magic brew." She poured a small amount of liquid into what appeared to be a shot glass. "Ingredients for it are rare. To measure's the best way to share."
Twilight Sparkle relaxed her movements, and took a deep breath.
What is Quifons?
Twilight tilted her head back, held the glass aloft, and downed the sip of viscous white liquid by sucking hard on the rim of the glass. Then she slammed it down on the table, rattling everything in the room.
She immediately grimaced, though not from the odd flavor. "Oh, I'm sorry Zecora! That's just how Applejack—"
The world around Twilight filled with painfully bright light, and then she was somewhen else.
Twilight Sparkle found herself standing in a small, dimly lit room with a central table at which two alicorn sisters sat, staring at one another in silent contemplation. It was easy to recognize them as Celestia and Luna, but they looked remarkably different. Princess Celestia's coat was a light pink, her mane and tail were a darker pink, and she did not have the magical mantle billowing through them. Similarly, Princess Luna's mantle was missing, and her mane was the same cornflower blue Twilight remembered from when Luna had temporarily lost her mantle. Both ponies were smaller. In particular, Luna was no larger than Twilight herself.
The only sources of light in here were the glowing table and the curious magical runes around her. The markings covered every part of the walls, ceiling, and floor, and they pulsed with the same soft aquamarine light as the familiar hologram on the table's surface. Twilight immediately recognized the table as a version of the Cutie Map, but her attention was taken by force when she realised precisely where she was standing.
This had to be the fabled War Room of the Palace of the Two Sisters. From the legends Celestia had told her, this room was once the most anti-magically fortified site in all of Equestria—even stronger than the anti-magic throne of the Changeling Queendom. The room had been destroyed by massive stone structures falling upon it during Celestia's battle with Nightmare Moon, and even then it probably took an impossible amount of force to finally crack the structure. At least, that must have been how it happened. The War Room couldn't have been damaged by magic, because that was an impossibility.
At first it seemed equally impossible to Twilight that she could see this room at all, even through somepony else's memories. The magic here was so strong that even Celestia's recollections of the room should be just as fortified against magic as the room itself. However, Twilight quickly remembered the restriction on Zecora's potion: it required the magic of friendship to function. That made all the difference.
Her attention turned to the Cutie Map, and she noticed something very odd. In addition to the crystal table hosting the Map, there were two floating crescents of table on either side. They hovered slightly above the rim of the table, extending its circular shape into an ellipse. One was labeled Tartarus, and the the other was labeled Quifons. Tartarus looked exactly as anypony familiar with the dungeon realm would expect, but Quifons was very unusual. It appeared as a swirling mist of colorful, sparkling energy. It was difficult to see well, because it was represented by a very dim hologram backlit by an aquamarine glow obscuring the details.
Even so, that tiny, blurry glimpse was the most beautiful thing Twilight Sparkle had ever beheld.
Luna finally spoke, drawing Twilight's attention. "Nothing in all of Equestria can stand against the might of Friendship, not even Friendship itself." She clenched her lips tightly together for a moment. "There is no reason to doubt the safety of our future."
"I agree, Luna. Friendship is unassailable," said Celestia. "But our connection with Friendship could change by means beyond our reckoning, which would still be a problem. The plan I propose is merely a precaution."
"Quifons is in no danger, Queen Celestia. No pony, no thing, could possibly mar or change it in any way! Only the realm of Equestria may be altered. You are falling for the lies of that patchwork serpent," said Luna, gruffly. "Nothing he says can be believed, not even on those rare occasions upon which he admits his lies."
"Again, I agree. However, when another one of the Twelve predicts that under our leadership, Quifons will one day come to ruin, we must take warning... even if the prophecy has emerged from Discord's tainted mouth," said Celestia. "You and I may be Queens of all we survey, but our new world continues to change despite our best efforts to keep it in stasis. The effects of Chaos appear to be an essential part of the nature of all things, not merely Equestria herself. Discord and Star have both confirmed this multiple times—back when the former could still be trusted, that is. If somehow Quifons were affected by our citizenry, the complexity of Equestria would undoubtedly increase once again."
They used to be called Queens? thought Twilight. Well, that was definitely left out of the history books... Twilight also wondered what "complexity" referred to. The map was mostly barren, but its features were nearly identical to the Equestria she knew.
Luna snorted. "Ridiculous. As if Equestria could grow any more convoluted than it is already! That creature spoke from his multifarious hind end! He does not deserve to be one of us. His lies were yet another sad, desperate attempt to convince us Equestria would be safer trampled beneath his hoof and claws," she said. "He knows we shall swing the axe of Friendship eventually, and he is clearly more fearful than he lets on with his pretense. Our leadership is limited neither by the passage of time nor the advance of Chaos." Luna paused for a moment, her muzzle scrunched up in obvious displeasure. "However, if you are yet troubled, dear Sister, all that need be done is for one of us to abdicate the throne. Then, surely, his prediction could not come to pass." Luna glared across the table.
Queen Celestia sighed, but otherwise retained the perfect poker face Twilight had come to know very well. "Obviously, as the Demon of Chaos, our brother cannot be trusted. This is true by the very definition of his Element," she said. "Still, I remain concerned. I believe it would be best to allow our citizens to forget their past connection once the change has taken them. If anything, it will reduce stress, as they would no longer be pining for what they have become unable to directly experience."
"The Decision which led to this this 'Equestria' nonsense was a terrible mistake to begin with, Celie. We cannot relate to other stallions and mares, for we shall never be 'normal' adults, and neither can we fully relate to other foals. Aside from you, I, and Star, the remainder of the Twelve are either missing, estranged from us, changed beyond all recognition, or dangerous fools like Discord," said Luna. "The Saddeth thing is usually acceptable, but sometimes it is so horrifying it can actually yank a foal who witnesses one of them out of Quifons before their time. This leaves them as lost as you and I, for many years. And even in those cases where the Saddeth is clean and anticipated, the mourning period is atrocious and painful."
"We can't go back, Luna. You know this," said Celestia, very gently.
"Based again on the word of that beast! Perhaps there is some way we have not thought of," said Luna, though her tone of voice indicated that even she did not believe in the truth of her words.
Celestia tilted her head and raised a brow at her sister. Luna closed her eyes for a few moments, grimacing.
"Fine, we cannot go back," said Luna, her shoulders slumped forward. "But recognizing our past mistakes will allow us to prevent future mistakes, and surely you agree the Decision was a terrible mistake. It essentially ended Theia, for Friendship's sake!"
"I know, Lulu. It hurts me as well, but it is apparently what she wanted," said Celestia. "I would certainly take back the Decision if we could... not that our votes would be any less impotent. It was born of avarice and sloth, well-intentioned though it may have been. Nonetheless, this Equestria is a remarkable and beautiful thing, despite its many flaws."
"It is not right, Celie. We are the only rational adults remaining who can see the source directly. Now you wish to make adults not only blind to Quifons, but to forget that Quifons even exists? " Luna huffed and crossed her forelegs. "It is like adding salt to a wound."
"Sister, I too feel the burden we, including Star, carry as the only sane beings to straddle both worlds. Somepony must bear it, and it is only logical for it to be us," said Celestia. "The new plan is not terrible. Everypony has some connection to Quifons, even after the change. It's smaller for adults, but it's still present. Removing their memories will not damage that connection."
"It may seem like a trifle when compared with the Decision, but it is still wrong," said Luna. "Already ponies need be taught to respect and honor the Saddeth, yet somehow not fear it, and this has proven difficult. Without the light of Quifons in their memories, it may very well be impossible."
"Our citizens may number in the thousands, but they can teach one another to believe the truth with a little hidden guidance from us," said Celestia. "The population is unlikely to grow much further as it is."
"The population has already grown beyond simple pony forms, Celestia. We cannot so easily influence other species of sapient being," said Luna. "There are griffons now, and dragons, and even stranger forms than these. The mindsets of these creatures grow increasingly alien."
Queen Celestia placed her hooves on the table and leaned in. "This has to happen. It is the only sensible option, and I'm certain you know this already. Please , Queen Luna, do not oppose me in this."
Luna's eyes grew misty. "I hate sensibility. I hate the very fact that I have become sensible, and I hate that you and I must now rule this sensible Equestria! If this is insufficient to express my ire, I also hate my ability to hate things." Luna lowered her head to the Map, her voice muffled between her forelegs. "How many areas of knowledge must be blocked in order to keep Quifons a secret?"
"Only three. Star has been able to divine that with high certainty," said Celestia. "We must censor the study of astronomy beyond simple observation with visual telescopes, prevent our citizens from learning about the true nature of magic, and block knowledge of nomenmancy altogether. These three combined should be sufficient to safely wall off Quifons from rediscovery once the change of adulthood has taken a citizen. We should also try to limit communication technology from developing, but there are other benefits there. Counterintuitive though it may be, brother Star has clearly shown how advanced forms of communication would eventually lead to sloth and weaker friendships."
"The censorship I have no quarrel with, and certainly not the limits on communication. Those are far less a concern than the Decision. The problem is that we are deleting something indescribably beautiful from the minds of those citizens responsible for raising the generation which will follow. Are you most certain this is a path we can walk and still live with ourselves?" Luna's words were passionate, yet carried a hollow ring to them, like somepony phonetically reading from a script in another language.
Celestia slowly nodded her head. "You and I have no choice but to live on. Star can prevent what happened to Theia from happening to the three of us. But as I've already said, it isn't as bad as you think. The afflicted shall retain fond memories of a vague sort, and the magic of Friendship shall never leave them," she said. "Additionally, after each Saddeth comes renewal and return, so it isn't like Quifons is gone from their experience forever. But yes, once a pony has been changed, that pony must relinquish their past. It's the only way to protect Quifons, and you know my words are true." She paused for a moment, then spoke in a soft whisper. "I also hate the necessity of this, Lulu."
Queen Luna gritted her teeth. She stood and walked to the only exit, then tapped several runes on the doorway in sequence with her horn. The door opened and she exited without another word.
The moment the door slammed shut, a suddenly exhausted-looking Queen Celestia collapsed onto the hologram of the barren mountains of Griffonstone and began to sob softly into her legs.
Zecora stared into Twilight Sparkle's face with a look of concern. Twilight slowly realized the look on her muzzle was not a pleasant one. She covered her face with a hoof for a moment in order to compose herself.
"On what you've seen, I won't intrude, but hopefully it won't be rude if I may offer up a task: go to Celestia and ask ." Zecora's words were uncharacteristically forceful.
"I... I can't do that. Not yet, at least. I'm pretty sure she doesn't want me to know any of this," said Twilight. Zecora closed her eyes and sighed, shaking her head.
"I need to take the rest of the potion with me," added Twilight, lifting the potion with her magic. "I might need it again later."
Zecora lifted the shot glass. "Then please take this to safely measure, and drink for wisdom , not for pleasure ," she said, glaring sternly at her friend.
"No problem there," said Twilight Sparkle. "I'm still having difficulty processing what I've seen. I don't want to use this stuff unless I have no other choice. I don't know if you've tried this, but it gets more disturbing with every sip."
Zecora nodded solemnly, and a sad-looking smile crossed her muzzle. "I tried once, from the erstwhile batch. I shan't again say 'down the hatch'."
Twilight thanked her friend, then quickly left the hut with potion and glass in tow.
The train ride to Canterlot was uncomfortable for Twilight. She tried to nap along the way, but couldn't get a wink of sleep over the first half of the trip. The events of the past two days were haunting her thoughts, and deep down inside her barrel, she felt like any action she took from this point on was bound to be the wrong one.
"I can't let a little foal's random prediction do this to me," she whispered to herself. "He might be talented for his age, but he's still just a child. Even Celestia doesn't believe him. And if all foals know about this Quifons place, then there's nothing special about him knowing it exists, either."
Those words were true, and should have been comforting to her, but Twilight knew that Amethyst Eclipse's prediction wasn't the real problem. Princess Celestia was hiding something from her, and Twilight wouldn't be able to stop searching until she uncovered the secret. Twilight Sparkle was the Princess of Friendship, Bearer of the Element of Magic, and the savior of two kingdoms on multiple occasions. She deserved to know. She needed to know.
Revealing what she knew to Celestia made the most horse sense, of course, but Twilight had to pursue the option which led to the highest probability of success. She needed more information before she could lay her entire hoof on the table. Unless evidence emerged that she was doing something terribly dangerous, nothing was going to make her stop.
As the train continued to rumble along its tracks, Twilight glanced up at the hand brake signal that passengers could pull in an emergency to slow down the train. She sighed and shook her head.
"There are no brakes on the Twilight train," the young alicorn mumbled, as the whirling dervish in her mind finally spun down just enough to allow her a quick reprieve from consciousness...
warmth but not by name
a soothing heartbeat but not by name
waiting... dizzy...
pressure but not...
struggle but...
pressure
pressure
pressure
struggle
force
LIGHT
noise outside
impulse within vomiting?
noise within coughing?
coldness within FEAR
DISCOMFORT
more noise within
coldness on hide
texture and warmth
MORE LIGHT
MORE LIGHT
struggle
confusion
a soft sparkling, all around, at the edges of sensation... from all senses unified as one
calmness
Mother
Twilight Sparkle gasped and jerked upright in her seat, her wings flapping open and bowling over the train conductor next to her in the process.
"P-Princess?" said the pony, slowly rising back to her feet. "Is everything alright?"
It took a moment for Twilight's mind to clear. She was certain she could smell chocolate and lilac. Her flesh was tingling with an electric feeling, and she could taste something like lemon custard in the back of her throat. Little rainbow streaks bounced in front of her eyes, then slowly faded. Her magic sense was sparking, and for the briefest moment it felt like she could touch every living creature for miles—most of whom were insects, like the millions upon millions of worms churning deep within the earth. And there was something else, a perception even more curious: a vibration of sorts, a feeling somehow between magic and scent, which told her conclusively that the mare next to her was feeling nervous and embarrassed...
"Where is this, am I... Canterlot?" said Twilight, shaking her head as the sensations finally left her. The rest of the train appeared to be empty.
"Yes, Princess Twilight Sparkle," said the conductor. "We, um... we need you to disembark now, unless you're planning on continuing on to Hollow Shades."
Twilight stood up on shaky legs. "Th-thank you. Sorry," she said, then yawned as she grabbed her saddlebags and began walking to the exit.
As she disembarked, Twilight Sparkle could see it was still the middle of the night, which meant her train had likely arrived on schedule. Twilight estimated she'd only eked out about an hour of REM sleep on the train. She could go to the castle and get free boarding there, or wake her parents and stay at home. Neither choice was appropriate. Twilight still owned a home of her own in Canterlot, and it was already filled with the exact resources she needed.
Arriving at the front door, Twilight was surprised to find the garden outside well-maintained. Perhaps Moondancer or her parents had been keeping it up. She fumbled magically through her saddlebags until she found the keys, then opened the door and headed inside.
It was very dark, but familiar. Dropping her saddlebags by the door, Twilight wandered up the steps to her bed by rote memory, then slipped under the covers. There was something warm and fuzzy right next to her. Did she have a large stuffed toy she'd left here? She couldn't remember, but her mind was saddled with fatigue and confusion. So she blindly cuddled herself to sleep.
Twilight Sparkle awoke to the distinct sensation of warm breath on her muzzle. Her eyes opened, and she saw a face both familiar and unfamiliar. It was a bit like looking in a mirror, except her eyebrows weren't that bush—
"Twilight, I'm sorry!" whispered the strange pony. It took a few seconds to register to Twilight that she was presently holding Moondancer in her legs, in her bed. Judging by the bright light streaming in the house, this had probably been the situation for the past few hours.
"What, um," said Twilight. Moondancer was blushing furiously. Twilight was fairly certain the burning sensation in her cheeks meant the blush was mutual.
"You climbed in bed with me in the middle of the night, and, um... you pinned my legs, so I was afraid if I got up I would wake you," said Moondancer, her voice still quiet. "I... I hope that was okay."
"Ohmygosh. Moondancer, I didn't mean," said Twilight, her eyes wide as she willed her legs to release her friend. Oddly enough, those legs weren't presently responding to commands from her central nervous system.
Moondancer grinned sheepishly. "It's okay, I... well, I don't mind," she said. "But, um, I should have gone down to the couch. This was dumb. I'm not surprised you didn't notice, given how tired you were."
Twilight wracked her brain, trying to put together the pieces. "Oh. Oh horse apples , I'm sorry Moondancer! I forgot you were staying here sometimes," she said, shivering in place. "I... Huh. I didn't realize you were sleeping in my bed , too. Er, but that's fine, though! All of this is fine."
"All of it?" asked Moondancer, biting furtively at her lower lip. "You... didn't mind either?"
Twilight Sparkle's eyes danced back and forth between the bed and Moondancer's face. "I, um, sure, it's fine, and I sh-should get up," she said, finally pulling herself free from the embrace and toppling off the small bed entirely. "Wow. Sorry, I, um. Huh."
Moondancer sighed. She reached over to the nightstand and nabbed her glasses, then pulled her bangs up and out of her eyes with a mane-tie. "Right. Yeah, I've been here a lot. You have amazing books and equipment, and it's just easier to sleep here," she said. "I can, like, go home if you need me to..."
Twilight stood up and shook her head. "No, please stay! Actually, I came to Canterlot looking for you in particular. I have... I have a very long story to tell you."
"I'll brew the coffee," said Moondancer, slipping on her sweater.
"That is, without a doubt, the stupidest story I've ever heard," said Moondancer, between sips of her third cup of java. "There's no way you made any of this up. It sounds like... like young adult fanfiction written by a schizophrenic timber wolf."
Twilight chuckled. "Actually, I was thinking the same thing. I told Starlight Glimmer that I had no choice but to believe the vision. I literally could not have made it up."
Moondancer pursed her lips. "We have to tell Celestia, Twilight," she said. "I want to know as badly as you do, but there's just too much at stake here."
"Do you really think Amethyst Eclipse knows what he's talking about?" asked Twilight.
"Not for a second. I mean, ignore his age, and what do you have? A fairly competent, yet neophyte, mage with a prediction," she said. "Predictions require time or fate-based magic spells, most of which are proscribed, and even then there's no chance a foal his age could cast one."
"Exactly. So I don't think we need to worry about any—" began Twilight.
"Wait, I'm not done. He's obviously weird, and he never said anything about the prediction coming from his ability to use magic , did he?" said Moondancer, stirring the remains of her coffee with magic. "He can see this Quifons, apparently, or at the very least he has clear memories of it."
"All foals can, if the facts from my vision of the War Room remain true today," said Twilight.
"This little guy is different. He was able to communicate with you at, what, maybe a fifth-grade level, and he can still remember Quifons at the same time," said Moondancer. "It seems likely that most foals lose touch with Quifons sometime before the interfascicular oligodendrocytes finish turning grey matter into white matter via myelination. The foal you're describing sounds like he's already been through that process. He has the capacity to think abstractly, but at the same time, he can remember being much younger than any adult can. I mean, you'd be hard pressed to find an adult pony who could remember being four years old with any clarity. That data gets overwritten as a natural part of the learning process."
Twilight paused for a moment and closed her eyes. "I had a weird dream on the train," she said, then opened her eyes and stared out the window at a passing cloud. "I think I was somehow... remembering my own birth? Naturally, this should be impossible. Young memories like that shouldn't be in my brain at all, like you said."
"Interesting. Well, there must be magic involved, then," said Moondancer. "You're reaching into the past to recover the memories from when they used to be there, or the memories are falsified by the magic."
"I don't think it's magic. Not exactly , anyway. I think Quifons is involved." Twilight fidgeted in her seat.
"Maybe," said Moondancer, "but it sounds like Quifons is just a 'passive' flavor of magic we don't know about. It's still magic, just not the kind you can control directly."
"In the dream, I could sense Quifons at the edges of my vision, just before I saw Mom—er, Twilight Velvet. It was calm and peaceful, but absolutely overwhelming at the same time. And I certainly couldn't 'see' it. It was the tiniest, peripheral glimpse, but that was enough to flood my senses."
"I know who your mother is, Princess Dork," said Moondancer, snickering. "Pretty much half of Equestria does."
Twilight blushed. "Right, right. But I... I felt it, somehow, Moonie! And then I woke up with all sorts of weird sensations, and I think I could even detect emotions for a moment, but then it all faded away."
Moondancer raised a thick eyebrow at 'Moonie', but didn't comment. "All of this is fascinating, but we still gotta tell her, Twi. There are too many unknowns here. There's weird magic we don't understand—or whatever phenomenon is causing this—and it's already starting to affect you, even though you only caught the tiniest glimpse of it through somepony else's memories ," said Moondancer. "That's a big red flag. Obviously I stand behind your passion for inquiry, but Princesses Celestia and Luna are the only ponies we know that could have the answers and be willing to divulge them. They need to be our first stop."
"So you don't want to do even a little astronomy first?" said Twilight, wincing.
"Tartarus, yes, I do! Right now, even! But we need to well-order our priorities," said Moondancer. "You're not thinking clearly because this thing you were exposed to is overwhelming your senses already."
"I don't know that it matters. I certainly can't be the one to tell her. If she shuts me down, I'll lose my mind. I'm already starting to lose it, if you haven't noticed." Twilight hung her head and sighed.
"Fine. We won't tell her you know," said Moondancer, with a gentle smirk.
"What? How?"
"Easy peasy. I'll go ask her myself, under the ruse that we haven't spoken in a long time. I can pretend I overheard about this place while passing a playground, or something like that, and that I'm starting to have the memories you're describing," said Moondancer. "I'll add that I'm interested in doing astronomy research since I have access to this place."
"Hmm. I'm having a hard time believing Princess Celestia will buy any part of that story," said Twilight.
"Probably not, but I'm a good liar. I won't give up anything you've done or learned so far," replied Moondancer. "Besides, if I mention I'm using your old place, that will probably convince her you're not involved, ironically enough."
"How... oh! Because it already sounds suspicious if you mention you're using my facilities, and you probably would omit that detail if you were trying to hide my involvement."
"Bingo," said Moondancer, polishing off her third cup with a deep slurp.
"Well, I guess it's a reasonable plan," said Twilight, frowning. "I mean, in the worst case, we'll learn if she thinks we're doing something dangerous..."
"...which at the very least, will give us more data to help us make the decision on whether to proceed," finished Moondancer.
Twilight nodded several times. "We're definitely on the same page."
"Same paragraph, even."
Twilight smiled. "Yeah."
"Princess Celestia... she doesn't have access to memory magic of some sort, does she?" asked Moondancer.
"I'm sure she does. Even I know some, but most of it's alicorn-level stuff and it's still illegal to cast it. It's even illegal for Celestia to use it, or at least unconstitutional since it violates the rule of law. Then again, Quifons seems to be related to memory magic, so that may throw a wrench in any expectations we should hold," said Twilight. "Look, I know what you're thinking, and I've been a little paranoid she might try to make us forget Quifons again too. I don't think there's an easy way she could do it at this point, though. There's too much in my brain."
"Well, that's another good reason you shouldn't be the one to confront her," said Moondancer. "Hay, hoof me that silver marker. I have an idea."
After Twilight hoofed Moondancer the permanent marker, her friend quickly drew something on the bottom of her left front hoof with it.
"What's that?" asked Twilight.
"Insurance," said Moondancer, winking, which elicited a blush. "Hopefully I won't need to use it, but I'll keep it a surprise for now."
"Wait, are you leaving already?" asked Twilight. "Like, right now?"
"Don't see why not," said Moondancer, with a shrug. "I'll brush my teeth first and trot over for an audience. Her schedule's usually less busy this early, especially on a Monday. You might want to wait in the dining room with the shades down, though."
"Right, she might send a guard or something, just to check on the place," said Twilight Sparkle. "Wow... all this cloak and dagger stuff is escalating so quickly! I hope Starlight isn't this nervous."
"From what little I gather, she's used to this sort of thing," said Moondancer. "Rarity should get a kick out of it too. Rainbow Dash told me all about how she loves playing 'detective'."
"Starlight and Rarity are definitely competent enough to pull off the heist without getting in trouble," said Twilight, grabbing her saddlebags and retreating to the dining room. "Even if they screw up royally, they basically have diplomatic immunity."
"You might have 'diplomatic' and 'royal' switched," Moondancer called from the bathroom. Twilight heard her spit, then watched her trot toward the exit. "I'm sure this Quifons thing is just a big misunderstanding or something, and we'll be laughing it off later today. Especially after your other friends commit a felony or two over in Manehattan. But just in case... could you wish me luck?" she said.
Twilight could barely see her standing by the door from where she sat in the dining room. Even from here, Moondancer looked strangely vulnerable.
"Absolutely, I wish you the best of luck. You're a good friend, Moondancer," said Twilight.
"You're... um... y-yeah, I know I am. Thanks," said Moondancer. She locked the door from the inside with the door open, then quickly left and shut it behind her. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief at being free from the social anxiety. Moondancer was a good friend, but something about spending time with her made her feel... antsy .
"Oh, Moonie—er, I mean Moondancer. I really hope I'm not doing something bad to you," she whispered to herself. Then she opened her saddlebags, took something small out, and began to spin it in the air.
It was the shot glass, already filled with goo and shrink-wrapped so that it wouldn't spill. Twilight had prepared the dose shortly before speaking with Starlight, and brought it with her just in case.
Should I wait for her report, or just go ahead and take another dose now? Waiting was the only option that made sense. There was a lot more that could be done before Twilight would need to reopen Princess Celestia's treasured memories, and the potion should be an item of last resort. Swallowing the goo was, in a way, a much more invasive theft than what Rarity and Starlight were preparing for.
But waiting was just excruciating .
With the remaining shreds of her willpower, Twilight put the wrapped dose back into her backpack and latched the side shut. "I need a book," she said, trotting out of the room to grab one.
Five minutes later, she returned to the dining room with one of Spike's old, oversized beanbag chairs (repaired about a dozen times—it took a while to learn how to properly file down his scales). Also at her side were five books on the subjects of magic theory, cosmology and dimensional theory, astronomy, advanced magical practice, and architecture. The last one was just for fun, in case she became bored with the others.
Twilight decided to keep the lights off just to be safe, and read with her horn to light the pages. It felt a lot like being a little kid again, and this tickled something deep in her innards. It also scared her for reasons she didn't fully understand, but she brushed off the negative feeling.
Somewhere in the middle of Chapter 5 of Astronomical Annotations , Twilight had dozed off. The knocking sound on the door abruptly woke her up from a dreamless sleep.
The knocking repeated itself, and then a third time. It was rapid and insistent. Twilight turned on the lights in the dining room (still hidden from view from the outside, at least), slunk to the edge of the room, and flipped the lock from a distance with her magic.
Looking over at the clock, Twilight realized nearly two hours had passed. Walking to or from the castle from here should have taken Moondancer less than ten minutes.
Moondancer opened the door, looked left and right, then shut it behind her and locked it. Her eyes widened as she spotted Twilight staring back at her from the dining room.
"I had a sneaking suspicion you'd be here," she said, frowning as she marched forward. She looked rather upset.
"W-what? Moondancer, what happened?" said Twilight.
Moondancer exhaled slowly, then extended her hoof upward toward Twilight's face. "I was hoping you could tell me. Do you have any idea what the buck this means?"
On the frog of her hoof were, in silver marker, symbols clearly in Moondancer's magewriting. Twilight didn't recognize them.
"I... don't know what those symbols mean," said Twilight.
Moondancer sighed. "It reads, 'PLAY DUMB', in a code I used to write with when I was a young foal."
"Ah, I see," said Twilight, grimacing. "Okay, this time, I'll brew the coffee."
"This time? Oh Twilight Sparkle shenanigans, how dearly I've missed you," said Moondancer, shaking her head. "That was sarcasm, just in case it didn't come across."
"Yeah, I get it," said Twilight, rolling her eyes.
"Coffee: your usual?" asked Twilight Sparkle, preparing a kettle. Her friend stood just a few hoofsteps away.
Moondancer shook her head, then adjusted her glasses with a hoof. "I'm surprisingly wired at the moment, so that much caffeine might be a mistake. I'll go with some green tea, if it isn't too much trouble," she said. "Either way, I'm significantly more interested in knowing why I'm missing this morning's memories than I am in libations and pleasantries."
"I'll take tea as well, then. I'm not surprised you're jumpy—you had three cups of java this morning," said Twilight, as she loaded the kettle's infuser with tea leaves.
"Wait, you were here early this morning, too?" asked Moondancer. "I usually take my coffee right after dawn."
"I arrived last night, actually," said Twilight. "You see, after we woke up in bed together—"
Moondancer froze. Her eyes widened and her mouth gaped.
"Oh! Oh shoot, I don't mean like, like that," said Twilight, blushing furiously. "Er, I mean, we weren't being super -intimate or anything..."
Moondancer raised a brow. "In your old bed, the one upstairs? The twin bed that barely fits one pony?"
Twilight grimaced. "Okay, um, I should probably stop brewing tea and just look for a spell I can cast to restore your memories," she said. "That will help avoid anything uncomfortable."
"No, brew away," said Moondancer, with a brief blush and a wave of her hoof. "I'll go look for the spell while you're doing that. Think I know one that will work, since it's been less than a day since I lost anything... well, that I know of, anyway. But it's fine." She paused for a moment before looking back at Twilight. "Twi, I want you to know something. I'm okay with whatever happened between us."
"R-really?" said Twilight. "Um, that's... Nothing really happened, but, um..."
"Oh," said Moondancer, and she glanced to the side as her face fell.
"Wait, I'm not, like, opposed to it or anything!" blurted Twilight. "I, um, I've just never really even thought about the possibility before, so this is kind of new territory for me."
Moondancer nodded slowly, then looked back over to her friend. "You mean the possibility of 'us '," she said flatly.
"No, I mean... more generally."
"The... idea of being with another mare?" asked Moondancer.
Twilight winced, and wound her hoof in the air in a 'keep going' motion."
Moondancer blinked a few times. "The idea of being intimate with anypony? "
Twilight sighed and nodded. "Yes," she said softly. "I mean, I never even had close friends until a few years back, as you know. I've only had a crush on one pony in my entire life, he wasn't exactly a friend, it faded quickly, and to be perfectly forthright, well, he was also a bizarre-looking bipedal alien being from another dimension."
"Huh. That's... well, it's fascinating, actually. After we sort this out, I demand intricate details," said Moondancer, and then she smiled. "Okay. Yes, I think this is all acceptable. I'm very sorry for bringing up something uncomfortable."
"Not uncomfortable, just new," said Twilight, with a sheepish smile. "It's like... trying to ice skate for the first time, you know? I keep falling down, because I have no idea what I'm doing right now."
"Oh. Well, for one, you're letting the water boil over," Moondancer pointed out. "Green tea should steep at a slightly lower temperature."
Twilight quickly removed the kettle as it began to whistle, then turned down the temperature on the stove. "Right, right. Sorry—distracted."
"Perfectly rational response, in these specific circumstances anyway," said Moondancer, heading out into the main living space to search the bookcase. "So I guess we're doing something we shouldn't be, or more likely, you are. If Princess Celestia is blanking my memories I can only assume you've dragged me neck-deep into an enormous pile of horse apples, which is a rather impressive feat in such a short timespan. Even for the two of us."
"Heh. Like I said, it's a long story. I'm looking into something strange that Celestia has apparently tried to keep hidden for at least a millennium, and it involves censorship of both astronomy and magic theory, among other things. You insisted on speaking with her to make sure we weren't doing anything stupid before we got carried away with our investigation," said Twilight. "The evidence appears to suggest that she still intends to keep it a closely-guarded secret, even after all these years."
"Ah," said Moondancer. "Well, I don't remember much from the meeting, so I can't levy an estimate on what she knows at this juncture. I'd be surprised if she isn't already neigh-certain you're the one behind this, even though it was very clear from the note on my frog that my aim was to prevent her from coming to that exact conclusion."
"Princess Celestia is as smart as we are, and much, much wiser. I guess it depends on what you told her," said Twilight. "We'll need to figure that out as soon as possible."
"What I do remember is going to sleep last night—alone , for the record. Then I felt a wrenching sensation and found myself standing upright with stars in my eyes. Er, not literally, but you know the kind I mean. My vision slowly cleared, after which it was obvious I was in standing in the Sisters' throne room. I looked around and noticed the doors were shut, and there were no guards. Luna wasn't there, which isn't a surprise—she usually sleeps until mid-afternoon at the earliest. So it was just me, and Celestia. She was sitting on her throne at quite a distance, so this wasn't exactly an informal conversation," said Moondancer, telekinetically looking through dozens of books she spoke.
"Please, go on," said Twilight, repeatedly tapping the side of a cabinet with a hind hoof.
Moondancer ignored the distracting sound. "Right. Well, Celestia said something like, 'Are you okay, Moondancer?' And I asked where I was, naturally. She told me I'd been victim to a magical accident of some sort that she was still investigating, but that I should be fine now. Early on in the discussion I noticed a pain in my hoof and looked at it to remove a tiny rock I must have placed there at some point. Pretty smart, Past Moondancer—and for the record, I view that as complimenting another pony so that doesn't officially count as egocentricity. Of course, that's when I saw the note I wrote myself," she continued. "Celestia told me that she suspected that you were responsible for the accident, but you might be under some kind of magical compulsion, so I should come to her immediately if I hear from you, in order to keep you safe or whatever. I said I would, of course. I asked if she could tell me anything more about what was wrong with you, and she said she was still looking into it and would keep me informed. Then asked if I could leave because I had a headache, which was a mild fib."
"Hmm. If you had already forgotten everything, I guess the note didn't help at all," said Twilight. "That's unfortunate. It was a very clever idea."
"No, the note did give me a hint that I should talk to you before turning you in, so to speak. Apart from that, however, it may have done more to harm than help. She probably noticed my reluctance to engage her in greater depth on the topic, because the note made me immediately suspicious. Hopefully she just assumed the spell she cast was part of the reason for my behavior," said Moondancer, frowning. "Stars above! Where is that blasted Advanced Magic book? The first four volumes are here, but the fifth one has all the good stuff."
"Oops," said Twilight, placing her hoof over her face. "I'm sorry, Moondancer. I have that one over there in the dining room. Ugh, I'm really scatterbrained at the moment. The idea of Celestia doing something like this to you is really affecting me..."
"And don't forget the bed," added Moondancer, with a smirk and a wink as she passed Twilight in the kitchen.
Twilight blushed. "Y-yes, I suppose that may also be a significant piece of the phenomenon," she admitted, then levitated the pot along with two teacups and saucers she followed Moondancer into the kitchen. "You don't need honey or anything with this, do you? I know you don't use a spoon."
Moondancer located the book and placed it on the table, then sat down. "I don't. Magic works fine. I feel a little guilty about it, being a unicorn elitist and all, but it's just the two of us so I don't need to pretend civility," she said, smiling. "Just don't tell the earth ponies."
Twilight chuckled. She telekinetically poured them each a cup of tea, then tugged on the infuser cord to lock it out of the remaining fluid in the kettle. "Same here," she said, setting the kettle on a heat-resistant matting. "I know the spell you're looking for, by the way. It's somewhere in chapter seven—"
"Found it," said Moondancer. She quickly swiveled the book to face Twilight. "Normally I'd be surprised you hadn't memorized a spell like this, but I guess it almost never comes up in practice. How often does somepony lose their memories, anyway? Outside of psychological counseling situations, I mean. I don't know of any magic that does it, so if it exists it must be proscribed..." She stirred her tea with telekinetic magic, then took a small sip. "Mm. Not bad."
"Your intuition is correct. That kind of magic is definitely illegal. We talked about this subject earlier this morning, but you should remember that soon enough. Just as I suspected, the spell isn't too hard to cast. I'm pretty sure you could cast it on yourself, even, since this is well within my best estimate of your abilities. Which, I must admit, is very high. Although..." Twilight pulled a bookmark ribbon into place on the page in question, then flipped further into the book.
"What are you looking for?" asked Moondancer.
Twilight raised a hoof for a moment as she spun through the pages. Then she stopped on a page and grinned. "Ah, there we are! I'm glad I thought of this first," she said. She turned the book back around for Moondancer to see, and pointed to the spell in question.
"High-level enchantment detection. Why would you need this..." said Moondancer, while Twilight sipped at her own tea, waiting patiently for her friend to figure things out on her own brainpower. "Oh! You think Princess Celestia might have put some kind of a trigger on my memories to detect if I used magic to recover them? That's... that's almost diabolical, Twilight." She scrunched her muzzle up in what looked like a mixture of distaste and disbelief.
"Removing the memories of somepony as gifted and friendship-allied as you are is diabolical to begin with," said Twilight, frowning. "I don't think we can put anything past Celestia right now. I don't think she's evil or compromised or anything like that, of course. She's undoubtedly trying to protect us from something dangerous, but I don't think it's wise for us to make detailed assumptions about her true motives."
Moondancer took a long sip of tea, followed by a deep breath. "Well, then... should we let her protect us?" she asked. "Maybe whatever you're doing—which you still haven't explained to me beyond cursory details about 'censorship', and given the argument I'm making now might be for the best—maybe all this really is a bad idea. Perhaps the memories themselves are dangerous, and you need to have your noggin wiped too?"
"Do you think that's even remotely likely?" asked Twilight, a quizzical expression on her muzzle.
"I could believe most of it, but not a second on the 'memories being dangerous' part," admitted Moondancer. "Memories are a non-literal encoding of events, and are very difficult to dissociate or translate outside of the mind of their owner. They don't interact with magic directly, unlike imagination, because they exist in the past, embedded in the detritus of the brain. They can't be 'dangerous' by themselves."
"So you do want to recover them, then," said Twilight, as she turned the book back around and began casting the detection spell.
Moondancer snorted. "They're my memories, Twi. Stars yes, I want them back."
Twilight nodded. "This whole thing is about hidden memories, by the way. Like, everypony's memories," she said. Twilight's aura glowed around Moondancer's head.
"I'm intrigued," said Moondancer, squinting. "So let's get this over with already. I doubt you want to do a second exposition on 'it's complicated' material."
Twilight's horn stopped glowing and the sounds of mana faded. She grimaced and pounded the floor with a rear hoof, causing the teacups to shake. "Arrrgh! I can't believe she actually did this!"
"Twilight, I think I'm starting to have second thoughts about this," said Moondancer. "She locked my memories? Like, seriously?"
Twilight Sparkle nodded. "Yep. They're still in your mind, I'm pretty sure, or there wouldn't be anything to hold the enchantment I can see there. She didn't delete them at all. She used them to set some kind of a trap. Any attempt to restore them will trigger a separate enchantment, probably a silent alarm, but I can't be certain without engaging in further study," she said. "I could easily remove all the magic, like all at once, but then Celestia would definitely know. I can detect that she actually sacrificed an iota of her magic to maintain a link with your mind. It's a tiny bit, but it's notable because it requires alicorn magic to form a passive link of that sort."
"Why didn't she just view my memories, then? Or, wait... did she?" asked Moondancer. "I didn't think remote viewing was possible, but I didn't think locking memories was, either! Dammit Twi, the entire Royal Guard might be on the way here right now! Do you need to book it out of here before they show up?"
"No, you were right the first time. It isn't possible to view memories with rote magic," said Twilight, with a sigh of relief. "Memories can be identified via rough time signature and compared to known events, and they can be inserted or deleted or locked as long as you can guess what you're dealing with. But viewing requires an incredible amount of decoding that nopony has been able to master, not even Star Swirl. It's due to the reasons that you yourself described just a moment ago."
"Horsefeathers. Then we're back to square one," said Moondancer. "Er, sorry about the profanity, if you care."
Twilight shook her head. "No. In fact, I agree with it. You're the only pony who can view your mem—" said Twilight, stopping short with a look of shock on her face. Slowly it grew into a naughty-looking smirk.
"Oh no. I know that look, Sparkle," said Moondancer, sighing. "You're going to do something dangerous with my brain, aren't you?"
"Not dangerous, just devious," said Twilight, grinning. "Believe it or not, I have a magic potion with me that will do what rote magic can't. It's not the reason I brought it here, but it's perfect for what we need!"
"You mean you can view my memories with the potion?" said Moondancer. "Even though there's no spell out there we know of that can do the same?"
"Yes, because it works through friendship rather than using brute magical force," said Twilight. "But even better, YOU can see your memories, presuming my hunch is correct."
Moondancer narrowed her eyes. "Didn't we just discuss this? Unlocking them will alert Celestia."
Twilight giggled and clopped her hooves together. "That's the beauty of it! We're not going to unlock them. We're going to make you view your own memories without actually restoring them, so you'll be creating new memories from the old memories! We're making a rough copy of them, essentially," she said. "Although, this will only work under one particular condition. If that condition doesn't exist, I'll need to be the one who does the viewing."
"What's the catch?" asked Moondancer.
Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat. "Moondancer, this is a delicate question, but... do you like yourself?"
"What? Um, that's a weird question. I guess... I guess I don't know? No, wait," she said, looking down at her hooves in thought. "Yeah. I think I do. It's kind of odd, because I'm pretty sure I used to hate myself, but ever since reconnecting with you that's changed. Like, significantly," Moondancer said, and smiled. "Do you like me, Twilight Sparkle?"
A blush tingled across Twilight's cheeks. "I, um... Yes. Yes, I do like you, Moonie."
"Moonie? " said Moondancer, raising a brow.
"What? Did I just say that?" Twilight's eyes widened.
Moondancer chuckled. "It's fine, I can be your 'Moonie'," she said, and Twilight felt her cheeks burn even hotter. "But, yes. If you like me, then I'm highly confident I like me too. You have good taste in friends, y'know." She winked again, and this time Twilight was certain her friend's aim was nothing more than to see how red her cheeks could possibly get.
(By Twilight Sparkle's best estimate, her cheeks were somewhere around nine out of of ten on the rubicundcheekometer, a measurement scale she invented at that very moment. Pronounced roo-buh-kund-chuh-KOM-uh-turr, of course.)
Staring at the floor to let the blood flush back into the rest of her body, Twilight used the opportunity to unlatch her saddlebags with magic. Then she pulled out the shot glass, removed the shrink wrapping, and set it down in front of Moondancer. "Alright then. Set the tea aside, and drink this instead. But first, I need you to concentrate on the question, 'What all did I forget over the past day? ' Concentrate, then drink with your mind on the question. The potion will do the rest. You might have to suck on the rim a little, because the stuff's pretty thick."
"Um, Twilight?" said Moondancer, sniffing and examining the liquid in the shot glass. "This isn't what it looks like, is it?"
Twilight cocked her head to the side. "What do you think it looks like? It's a memory potion."
"Heh. You don't know too much about sex, I guess?" asked Moondancer, with a wry smirk. "I mean, I don't have much experience myself, so no worries."
"I... I don't think I know what you mean, so no," said Twilight, her lower lip quivering. "I'm sorry, Moonie. Is there something, er, 'sexy-ish' about shot glasses?"
Moondancer shook her head. "It's fine, dork. I'll tell you later." She closed her eyes in thought, then sucked hard on the opening of the glass and swallowed. Moments later, the shot glass fell and clanked onto the table surface as her eyes opened wide and glowed with white light. Moondancer continued to sit there motionless with two eye-shaped flashlights beaming directly out of her skull.
On the other side of the table, Twilight scooted her chair to the side to avoid the high-beams. Moondancer's eyes were glowing surprisingly bright. She blinked every once in a while, but the light was otherwise uninterrupted. "Wow, that's powerful stuff. Is this what it looks like from the other side? I guess it's a good thing I have the kitchen windows shaded," she said to herself. "Heh. You know, I'll bet we could actually use this potion to make a pony-sized flashlight in an emergency... except that it would be stupid and dangerous, of course."
After a moment, Twilight remembered that her previous visions were all relatively short, so her friends probably didn't have to wait for her. Moondancer, however, was more than likely viewing only data that was stored in her own mind, and her question was to learn about everything that had happened to her. The memories that did exist were probably lengthy, given their recency. Consistent with how the potion worked, her experience would presumably consist of a single, sequential vision... but that vision could be up to three hours long, at least from Moondancer's perspective.
This could take a while, thought Twilight. So she went into the kitchen to clean up after the tea, and make some sandwiches for later.
After making some sandwiches for later, Twilight Sparkle returned to sit in the dining room with Moondancer. Her occasionally-blinking twin beacons had dimmed substantially in Twilight's absence.
Twilight sat across the table from her unresponsive friend and tried to read from her Cosmological History and Modern Dimensional Theory book, but she was too distracted to make much progress. It wasn't the eerie eye-beams draining her attention, but the hidden knowledge she knew lay on the other side of those lights that roiled her mind with curiosity.
What could Princess Celestia be hiding from me?
Of course it couldn't be anything personal; but that didn't make Twilight feel any better. She was once Celestia's most faithful student, but now...
Maybe a touch of jealousy was tugging from within, Twilight realized. Things would be so much easier if that brilliant little colt didn't hate me!
Mercifully, Moondancer snapped back to consciousness after just under an hour of staring. She coughed and gasped, blinking several times in quick succession, and Twilight immediately hoofed her a little glass of water.
"Th-thanks," said Moondancer in a rather horse voice. She took a long swig of water and exhaled. "Wow. What a trip."
"I can only imagine," said Twilight. "It's never taken me more than five minutes, I think."
"How—"
"Fifty-two minutes and seventeen seconds," interrupted Twilight, speaking at a rapid pace.
Moondancer chuckled. "Eager much?" she asked.
Twilight blushed. "Sorry, Moonie. I'm still pretty anxious about the thing with Celestia," she said, smiling sheepishly as her hoof tapped against the floor with all the energy of a woodpecker.
"Okay, okay," said Moondancer, taking another large gulp of water. "I'll get to it, if only to save the dining room floor I've been using for the past three months from an unnecessary renovation. Here's the story, minus the parts we both remember..."
Moondancer briefly stared into space and blushed before beginning her tale.
As I said, first I watched all the crazy antics that you and I got up to this morning. I'm not sure how I felt at the time, but it was probably similar to how I feel now: a little embarrassed, but happy to spend time with you. (Ahem.)
Anyway, after all that nonsense, I watched myself heading to the castle, obviously in the hopes I could get a brief meeting with Princess Celestia. I didn't stop anywhere along the way. Once within the castle outskirts, however, I happened to pass by a small colt who reminded me of the the foal you'd described. I was pretty certain it was Amethyst Eclipse, which probably gave me the idea—but I'm getting ahead of myself, that comes later.
I got as far as the outer corridor to the throne room before a guard stopped me.
"I'm Moondancer, a close friend of Twilight Sparkle," I said. "She asked me if I would consider offering my assistance to tutor Amethyst Eclipse, so I wanted to ask Princess Celestia about the possibility."
"Princess Twilight Sparkle?" said the guard, as if there were multiple Twilight Sparkles to go around—time travel and cloning-pool shenanigans notwithstanding, of course.
"That's the one, yes," I said. "If you want me to prove we're friends, I can throw your body down this hallway before you'll have a chance to react with that spear."
I'm not the best pony at judging facial reactions, but I'm pretty sure there was a mixture of varying degrees of fear, embarrassment, and confusion seated upon his muzzle. I probably noticed the same thing at the time, but the potion simply shows me what happened, as you know. It's a bit unfortunate it didn't give me a window into my own mind at the time, but we're kind of abusing the magic as it is.
"N-no ma'am, that will be fine. But the Princess is currently busy—"
At that moment, the doors way down the hall burst open, sending two other surprised guards (the ones who presently gated them) into a nervous ready stance. I suspect that the doors don't normally open that quickly, which meant the sudden appearance of the Princess was unusual.
"Moondancer," called Princess Celestia, with that weird, unreadable smile of hers, "would you care to come in and chat?"
This was flag number one for Moondancer-the-observer. I mean, there were flags before this which you and I discussed together, but this was the first warning sign I detected from the parts of the flashback that didn't have you in it. There was no reason she should have expected my arrival, unless Amethyst Eclipse passed her my name, and from your description it didn't sound like he was super-enthused about anything you had to tell him so I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even remember you'd mentioned me. Either way, the timing was creepy.
I walked down the hallway, and Princess Celestia held the door open for me. In retrospect I was clearly walking into a large, throne-room-shaped trap. I saw my eyes glaze over as I walked inside, and I suspect I was doing complex logarithms in my head—by which I mean logarithms in complex space, not 'complicated' logarithms, but I assume you'd interpret that as the default—so that the anxiety wouldn't show on my face. The throne room was entirely empty except for the two of us.
Well, the three of us, to be completely accurate, but the 'observing-me' didn't really count. Have I mentioned how weird it is to walk around in a fake environment adjacent to yourself and pass through objects as you do? The throne room doors basically closed over me, but at least I was prepared.
Once inside with the doors shut, she led me down to the center of the vaulted room. "Come," she said. Not being a moron, I followed her. She sat down in the middle of the floor, on the red carpet strip, and conjured a tea tray in front of us. She also teleported some pillows in for us to rest on.
I smiled as non-fakely as I could. "You... want to speak with me?" I asked, as she poured me a cup of tea. She hadn't cast a heating spell or anything, so I wasn't sure how she managed to brew the tea. I started thinking that maybe she had it in stasis, or more likely she had a cook prepare it in advance and I happened to show up at teatime—but my train (our trains?) of thought was (were) interrupted when she spoke.
"Yes. I heard you outside, so I assume you may have business with me as well," said Celestia, pouring us each a glass. "Have you met my new personal student?"
"Sparkler's kid, right?" I said. "Not yet, but I've heard about him."
"Did Twilight Sparkle speak with you about him?" she continued, slowly stirring her tea without magic. (I assume this was a sign of informality, given what you and I talked about earlier today. About 'unicorn elitism', I mean.)
I paused a moment, undoubtedly to strategize. "Actually, that's why I'm here," I said. "Twilight mentioned you were mentoring Sparkler's colt, and said I might want to offer him my services as a tutor. Gratis, just to pay things forward. I'd probably learn as much from him as he'd learn from me, anyway."
Celestia nodded gently while her mane did that weird rippling thing in the air behind her, and she took a sip of tea. "I see. Now, this next question is very important, so please think carefully. Has Twilight provided any other information to you, or spoken with you, over the past five days?"
I'm sure my face was a window, but it was a weird question so the look of concern and disbelief undoubtedly populating my muzzle was apt enough for the situation. "Um, no. She sent me a note mentioning—what was his name, Amethyst Eclipse, I think—and asked me to ask you if I could offer tutoring assistance. That's literally it," I said. "I can bring you the note if you want. Is Twilight in some sort of trouble?"
Then she smiled and exhaled, and I could sense the tension leaving her. "Not at all. I apologize for concerning you, Moondancer. Eclipse is indeed a talented foal, and he also has a very active imagination," she said. "He is the youngest student I have ever taken on, and I believe he is nervous around Twilight due to her reputation as a princess."
I saw this as a good opening, and apparently I had seen it that way as well, because I took it and ran with it. "If he's the foal I think he is, I'd certainly agree," I said. "Violet curly mane and tail, pinkish-mauve coat? Tiny thing?"
Princess Celestia's eyes narrowed a little. "You've met him already?"
I shook my head. "No, but Twilight described him more generally than that, and today I passed by a colt matching that precise description. He was staring off into space and mumbling something to himself about, what was it... 'key fonz', or something. I don't think he even noticed I was there, and I didn't think it was appropriate to introduce myself until I'd spoken to you."
I stopped. This gave me (us, probably) a moment to judge Celestia's reaction. Her face was an emotionless mask, but I noticed a telltale drop of sweat forming on her temple.
"Anything else?" asked Celestia.
My legs shifted where I sat on a pillow. "I don't think so. Is this 'key fonz' thing something I should know about? I don't think I've ever heard it before."
Then she sighed and rubbed her forehead with the front of a greave. "I'm sorry about this, Moondancer, I really am. But my primary responsibility is for the safety of all Equestria and beyond, and I can't afford to take any chances."
"Um, maybe I should come back later," I said, scrambling to my hooves with a sheepish grin. (Actual 'me' planted a hoof over my nonexistent face. Smooth one, Moondork.)
There was an amber flash of light, and I saw myself whine, then collapse on the carpet. Granted, if that's where the flashbacks had stopped, I wouldn't be telling you a protracted story about them. I'd be getting you the Tartarus out of Dodge City and send this information to you by mail. But there was more to come, because apparently this was only the first time she blanked my memories during our conversation.
"Holy Stars above," breathed Twilight Sparkle. "This... this... I don't even know what to think. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, though, it would be the best way to extract the maximum amount of data..."
Moondancer stared blankly at Twilight. "May I continue?"
Twilight closed her eyes and nodded, leaning back. "Sorry. Please, do go on."
The scene in front of me shifted. Now Celestia was seated on her throne, and no tea set or pillows lay with me on the floor. My body had been shifted to a more comfortable recumbent position, but my hooves were turned inward which fortunately hid the message. I suppose it's possible in the interim that she saw the message, though, because apparently I'm not allowed to see things that happened to my body when my mind was completely unconscious. I slowly stirred, looking around, then I stood upright on shaky legs.
"Where... Princess?" I said, shaking my head. "Ugh. Where am I?"
"You're in the throne room—"
"I know that," I interrupted in a rather insolent tone of voice. "It was rhetorical. Why am I waking up here?" I rubbed my head as though I had a headache.
I have no idea what I was thinking at that moment. Did I remember anything? Was I suspicious, or just grouchy? There's no basis for me to estimate. It's hard to put yourself into a situation you've never been in before (to your best recollection, I mean, and here I had none).
"Allow me," said Celestia, without moving from her throne. "Take this, it should help with that headache." A small cup of what looked like water teleported in front of me, and I imbibed without thinking. Curiously enough, I was able to smell the ethanol that formed the base for Celestia's concoction, but the amount in the cup was small, and the odd sensations from drinking it (more on that soon) did not persist for more than a minute or two. Even though I undoubtedly knew I was drinking something noxious, were I suspicious, it didn't seem to show. It definitely helped ease the pain, however.
It was clear from my angle that I had seen the writing on my left hoof while tossing back the tincture. After Celestia teleported the cup away, I stared at the hoof for a moment, then placed it against the base of my horn which made it look like I'd simply been distracted by pain. As best I can tell, she bought it.
"I'm sorry for the rudeness," I said. "What happened?"
Celestia smiled, but remained on her throne. This looked awkward because she was addressing me from an unfriendly speaking distance. It was like I was petitioning her for something, even though the throne room was otherwise empty. For whatever reason, I decided to stay pat and she didn't ask me to advance.
"It's fine, Moondancer. I realize you must have quite a headache after that spell, not to mention the confusion. The medicine I just gave you should abate it shortly. There was a magical mishap of sorts that triggered when you came into my throne room to speak with me, and it knocked you unconscious," she said. "I'll help you to recover your memories, but I need to ask you some questions first for safety."
"Um, okay," I said. "Fire away." I seemed just a little unsteady on my hooves. (I have a theory here, but you're probably thinking the same thing. I'll withhold speculation until after the exposition.)
"What is the last thing you remember?" she asked.
"Going to sleep in... in bed," I said. Seems clear I was trying to avoid telling her about being in your house, without outright lying. I'm not a politician but I know a non-denial when I hear one. Maybe I have an ego for saying this, but it's fun watching me be clever.
(Pfft. Stop smiling at me, dork.)
Celestia's face showed no signs of emotion, and I have to assume she knew that would be my answer because she had just cast the spell and undoubtedly she knew what the temporal area of effect would be. "When is the last time you spoke with Twilight Sparkle?"
"Wait, is Twilight in some kind of trouble?" came my immediate response. I noticed tension in my left forehoof as my ankle flexed, pressing the hoof with the hidden message more tightly against the carpet. Of course, my frog wasn't coming into contact with the carpet, but I could tell I was worried about revealing the message. At this point I knew something questionable was ahoof, I'm certain of it.
The princess shook her head gently enough that it hardly sent a ripple through that magical mantle of hers. "She hasn't done anything wrong, no, but she might be in danger. That's why this is very important."
It took me a moment to respond. "I, um... I don't know. I mean, it's been a couple of months since she's visited," I said. "We correspond by mail, though. She sends me letters once or twice per week. Last time I heard from her was about a week ago, which is a little overly long."
I noticed my words were starting to slur a little.
"And you're certain she didn't contact you any more recently than this, perhaps indirectly?"
I nodded. "Yes, I'm sh-uh, I'm sure. I feel a little dizzy," I complained. "I want to h-help Twilight, can I, um... can..."
Then I blinked a few times in rapid succession, and she cast the spell again. It was the same spell, as far as I can tell. I stumbled in place, but didn't appear to black out completely like before. I'm not sure how I got the small rock into my hoof because I didn't ever see it. Maybe it was there the whole time and I didn't get a good visual? Anyway, she cast another spell while I was still woozy, and that's when the vision ended.
"That's it? You mean, you remember what happened afterwards?" said Twilight.
"Pretty much, Twi," said Moondancer. "I basically told you the rest already. She repeated the same spiel about you being in danger and told me you might be possessed or something, but this time didn't black me out afterwards. The drunken sensation wore off within a minute or two."
"She must have drugged you with some kind of truth serum or something, to pry information from you," said Twilight. "I can't believe any of this, but that must be what you experienced."
"That's my theory as well. Her 'remedy' did help the pain, but that alcoholic elixir was undoubtedly intended for the primary purpose of loosening my tongue. Serendipitously, I didn't know anything more at that point than I'd already told her," said Moondancer. "Except for the hoof, of course, and fortunately she never asked about that. This points to a miscalculation on her part. She should have given me the drug after she realized I'd heard of Quifons, but before wiping my memory of today's earlier events. I think Princess Celestia made a critical error, Twilight. Do you realize what this implies?"
Twilight Sparkle paused for a moment as the obvious truth began to latch into place. "If Princess Celestia is making mistakes, then she must be really worried," she said, her voice a whisper. "What should we do?"
"Hypothesizing should come only after an analysis of what little data we have," asserted Moondancer. "There are a few things about my vision I don't fully understand. First off, I may have taken an undue risk by mentioning Amethyst Eclipse. Could she have seen through my gambit?"
"You said Celestia reacted by sweating. She probably wouldn't have done that if she knew you were lying," said Twilight. "She'd have used the tincture on you immediately. Besides, you had to confirm the description, so it fit your narrative perfectly."
"I got lucky, yeah. He was just milling about outside the castle, apparently lost in thought. It almost looked like he was playing with imaginary friends or something, but I didn't stop to check because it might have seemed suspicious and there were guards nearby," said Moondancer. "Anyway, if you have any ideas on how the magic she used on me works, that might help to know."
"She probably used a spell that blanks everything since the last time you were unconscious," speculated Twilight. "That would explain why the second casting wasn't as overwhelming, because it would only need to have affected your short-term memory. That's not nearly as invasive."
"The third spell she cast must have been the trap spell, in that case," said Moondancer. "Otherwise you would have been able to safely recover the short-term memories. You suggested they'd all been locked, so I assume she couldn't have cast it while I was unconscious the first time."
Twilight nodded slowly, then paused for a moment in thought. "Moondancer, do you have any idea why you didn't approach Princess Celestia to speak at a normal distance after you woke up the first time?" she asked. "You and I think a lot alike, and we both have this quality, but you're a bit more, um..."
"Obnoxious?" said Moondancer, raising one thick reddish eyebrow.
Twilight blinked slowly. "What? No!" she said. "I mean... you don't actually see yourself like that, do you?"
Moondancer shrugged, and looked off to the side.
"I was going to say 'direct', which is something I like about you. Applejack and Rainbow Dash are the same way. They don't pull punches, and you know you're always getting the raw, unvarnished viewpoint," she responded. Then Twilight scooted her chair to the side of the table and took Moondancer's chin in her hoof, tilting it toward her. "There's value to being different, Moonie. You like your friends for their similarities and good qualities, but you love them for their differences and flaws."
Moondancer rolled her eyes and pushed Twilight's hoof away, but Twilight could see a touch of blush fluttering in her cheeks. "Sheesh, put it on a poster, already."
"I mean it, Moonie."
"Why do you keep calling me that?" said Moondancer, clearly frustrated.
Twilight bit at her lower lip. "Y-you said it was okay?"
"Yes, but why do you WANT to call me by a pet name?"
"Well... it's fewer syllables, so it's easier..."
"Well, 'Moon' is only one syllable," she pointed out. "Why not that? Why something as silly as 'Moonie' when silliness is suboptimal?"
"Do you want me to call you 'Moon'?" asked Twilight.
"No, I just... ugh!" Moondancer placed her face in both hooves for a moment and drew in a deep breath. Then she looked directly into Twilight Sparkle's eyes. "Twi, listen up. You said you actually liked that I was 'direct'. I want to know if you really, truly mean that, and think about your answer very carefully before you respond because I do not want us to screw this one up."
Twilight Sparkle held back tears and swallowed hard. "Of course I do, Moon...dancer," she said.
"Good," replied Moondancer, telekinetically pulling Twilight Sparkle up through the air and onto her chair. Legs atremble, she held her friend close to her barrel and kissed her firmly on the lips. Twilight's eyes widened as far as they could go without falling out of their sockets. Both ponies' lips were dry, so Moondancer wet her own lips with her tongue and kissed her friend anew, much softer and gentler this time.
Twilight's mouth parted slightly and she vibrated a little in Moondancer's lap before nearly falling backwards, sending both ponies toppling onto the floor. Moondancer carefully cradled the back of Twilight's head to protect it from the floor, but the landing was rough. Twilight took a chin to the cheek, and Moondancer took a horn to the ear.
"Ow," said Moondancer. "Twi, if I wanted my ears pierced I'd see a professional," she said, as she stood up and gently helped her friend to her hooves.
Twilight Sparkle pulled her chair closer to Moondancer's and sat down. She blushed and rubbed at her sore cheek with a hoof. "S-sorry," she whispered, her voice croaking.
Moondancer sighed and bowed her head. "Horsecrap. No, I'm sorry," she said, sitting back down in her chair. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I... I'm still so mad about losing my memories, and now I'm taking stupid risks with our friendship."
"It's okay..."
"No, it isn't."
"Why not? I'm okay with it, really. Granted, It's weird, but..."
"It isn't fair is what it is!" said Moondancer, lifting her glasses to wipe her runny eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. "I'm sick of this. Celestia had no right to take these memories from me!"
Twilight looked away. "Well, we both know she's trying to save us from something bad. I'm not defending her, but at least you have your memories back! The recent ones, anyway."
Moondancer frowned angrily. "No, I don't."
"Didn't you see everything from the potion?"
"Seeing is not remembering , Twilight."
"Okay, but..."
"I saw myself wake up in your legs," said Moondancer.
"I... I don't understand," said Twilight.
Moondancer reached for some paper napkins on the table with her magic, and began to sob into them.
Twilight took in a deep breath and reached out with a hoof, then froze.
How can I help if I'm afraid the problem might be... me?
She fought the impulse to withdraw, and instead placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder. Feeling no resistance, she slowly leaned forward and began to stroke her back. Eventually the sobbing sound subsided. Moondancer blew her nose and wiped her eyes with several napkins, then looked up to Twilight, adjusting her glasses.
Twilight was certain her own face showed as much fear as it did concern, but she did her best not to add to the drama with tears of her own. Then, Moondancer finally spoke.
"I mean I don't remember waking up in your legs," she said.
Twilight nodded.
"And I want to," continued Moondancer.
"We'll get your memories back when we've solved this, Moonie. I promise."
Moondancer shook her head. "That's not..." she began, then stood up and sighed. Before Twilight could say anything, her friend cantered into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.
Twilight could hear the lock clicking, and she winced. At least there was no sobbing sound from the other side.
She just needs time to compose herself, I guess.
It was uncomfortable to think about the weird emotions crawling over her pelt, so Twilight Sparkle blocked them out as well as she could and retreated to the one thing she knew best.
Many minutes later, Moondancer emerged from the bathroom, looking tired but otherwise stable. The blinds had been drawn throughout the house, and Twilight Sparkle was in the center of the living area. All over the floor lay astronomical charts, books filled with tab-marked pages, and a copious array of notes on scrolls and notepads. A small path or two through the mess remained for careful hoofsteps.
"Are... you okay?" asked Twilight.
Moondancer nodded. "I will be. Sorry about the drama, I just... have a lot going on."
Twilight nodded, and opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again.
"It's fine, Twi. I see you've already started, to put it mildly..." said Moondancer.
"Yes! I know just what to look for, the moment Twilight hits," her friend replied.
Moondancer chuckled. "Yeah, me too."
"Hmm?" said Twilight Sparkle.
"Nevermind. Let's do this," said Moondancer, twisting her neck hard to one side to a satisfying 'pop' sound.
Twilight Sparkle breathed a tiny sigh of relief as Moondancer walked into the room. She'd been worried when her friend holed herself up in the bathroom, but the bespectacled mare seemed fine now.
Whatever the issue was, I guess it's over now. Still, I hope she opens up...
"Twi, before we start, I'm a little concerned about something," said Moondancer. She less-than-gracefully tiphoofed through the minefield of scattered notes and papers and books, currently strewn around the library floor like an pornographic orgy of data. Every so often Moondancer would slip, then catch herself with magic before tipping over completely.
"I assume you probably don't mean the stuff everywhere," said Twilight. "Sorry about that..."
"No, that's fine—I'm no stranger to work-mess," replied Moondancer. "I'm just concerned about you being here with me."
Twilight felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "I... d-do you want me to leave so you can do the work by yourself?" she asked, her voice a whisper.
Moondancer looked confused. "What? No, of course not! That doesn't make any sense, you silly dork. This is your house, after all, and even if it weren't, I'm thrilled to work with you," she said. "What I'm trying to say is that I'm concerned for your safety . Shouldn't we be taking steps to keep anypony from knowing you're here? Now that Celestia's suspicious, if she finds out we're here together, and I don't inform her of your whereabouts..."
Twilight Sparkle shivered at the sensation of tension leaving her body. It felt like a cork firing out from a bottle of carbonated wine, and suddenly her spine was no longer aching with pressure. "Oh, right, of course. Gosh... Moondancer, I'm really sorry if I'm being scatterbrained. I think I'm a little emotionally fatigued at the moment from all this nonsense," she explained. "I agree I need to be careful, but you can see I screened up the windows while you were under the influence of the potion, so nopony can see in on the entry-facing side of the house. Even if somepony tried to break in, I know how to teleport to a low-traffic area where it's unlikely I'll be seen, then a second teleport will take me to my parents' place where I can hide out. I already have the route planned."
"Having the ground-side windows blocked is a good start, but I don't see what we can do to cover up this enormous three-storey picture window," said Moondancer, pointing up at the vaulted wall of glass through which a very large, adjustable telescope was positioned. The position of the Sun suggested it would be evening soon, but lots of sunlight from a cloudless sky currently flooded the room.
"There isn't anything practical we can do about it, but I think we're still safe. The window overlooks the cliff, and it reflects most of the light from the Sun during the day," said Twilight. "Even though a lot of light shines in, it's difficult to see inside. I doubt anypony would be able to see me in here unless a pegasus pony flew unusually close to the cliffside."
"In that case, blocking the shades might be a little suspicious by itself," said Moondancer. "Clearly, shading the windows isn't making things darker in the main living space."
"Suspicious is still better than obvious," said Twilight, with a shrug. "Neighbors will assume you just want privacy, and that's a normal thing to want. But yes, if somepony looks closely at the layout of the building, it's obvious you're not trying to shut out the light. That's practically impossible during the day."
"Tell me about it," said Moondancer, with a chuckle. "I usually use that sleeping blindfold you leave by your bedside. Er, I hope that's okay."
Twilight Sparkle smiled, feeling an odd warmth in her belly. "No, that's fine! If you're not worried about getting Twilight germs on you, I mean."
"Nonsense. I love Twilight germs," said Moondancer, and then she winked at her friend.
Twilight giggled. "Heh. Can't say as I get the joke, but it's nice being comfortable in close quarters."
Moondancer sighed and frowned, but then the look on her muzzle began to creep back into a smile. "So... does that mean you're not afraid of Moondancer germs?" she asked, raising one bushy red eyebrow to punctuate the query.
"It is perfectly safe to assume that I'm not afraid of your hygiene, Moonie," said Twilight, "even though I tend to be picky about that sort of thing. I was a little concerned when we reconnected, but you've improved greatly since you started socializing again."
"Yeah, I didn't used to bathe much when I rarely left my house, but I'm glad my habits are better now," said Moondancer. "And since you aren't afraid of my 'Moonie germs', well..."
Moondancer leaned awkwardly over to Twilight Sparkle, nearly teetering to avoid tripping on a scroll. Then she kissed Twilight right on the nose. "Boop," whispered Moondancer.
Twilight Sparkle blushed and her eyes widened. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. The warmth was now a fire, and Twilight was... confused.
"Er. I'm sorry if that—" started Moondancer.
Twilight coughed. "N-no, it's fine. I'm just, well... not used to being kissed , much less twice in the space of a half-hour. I admire your work ethic, Moonie, so I usually think of you as all business, but I guess you can be silly, too! You remind me of Pinkie Pie that way."
Moondancer narrowed her eyes. "I'm more serious than you think," she said. Twilight gave her friend a curious look, then Moondancer added, "Wait, did Pinkie ever kiss you?"
"She used to do that all the time, actually," said Twilight. "I kept telling her she was silly, and eventually she just rolled her eyes and told me I was silly, which of course isn't true because I'm generally serious , but I suppose that's something a silly pony would say so it still makes logical sense. She didn't do it again after that."
"Oh. Were you put off by her advances, or...?"
"Advances?" Twilight momentarily wondered if she owed Pinkie Pie money and somehow forgot about it.
"Her romantic advances, Twi. You know, why Pinkie was kissing you."
Twilight laughed. "That's..." she said, then her voice trailed off as her face paled.
No way... that isn't possible. What? It can't be. What? What?
"Wow. This explains so much," said Moondancer, using one hoof under her chin to prop it up in a way Twilight found oddly endearing. "Er, no offense."
"Oh my Stars," Twilight murmured to herself, unable to avoid reaching the logically obvious conclusion. "But, why ...?"
"Why what...?"
"Why would she flirt with me , of all ponies?" asked Twilight.
"What? Why wouldn't she? Heavenly Moon, Twilight! You're brilliant, and fun, and pretty... not to mention adorkable ," said Moondancer. "I'll leave off the 'princess' thing, since that's obvious, but not really important."
Twilight stared at her friend, while still stunned from the realization.
Wait. If Pinkie was flirting with me, does that mean Moondancer...?
Before Twilight had a chance to respond, Moondancer continued, "Let's get back to work, shall we? We were about to discuss astronomy." The tiniest hint of a smug, satisfied smile crossed her lips, but Twilight barely noticed.
"W-work, yes," said Twilight, refocusing. She looked at the floor, then the window, then the walls—basically, anything that wasn't Moondancer. "So, um, okay. Censorship in astronomy."
"Right, your vision. Do you have any theories?" asked Moondancer. "How could study of astronomy be censored when anypony and their sister can look up to the sky with a telescope whenever they darn well please?"
"I have a few ideas," said Twilight. Her nerves seemed to settle as she reached out with her magic and levitated up a notepad from the organized chaos of the floor. "There are two basic categories. First off, things that we think are unknown, but could secretly have been scientifically determined. What we would call 'known unknowns', except that what we think are known unknowns are actually unknown knowns."
Moondancer appeared to suppress a giggle. "Cute, though logically accurate. You're saying Princess Celestia might know answers to some of the big unanswered scientific questions," said Moondancer. "That's a tempting idea, Twi."
"I'm not pleased with the idea of her hiding scientific information, but the idea excites me too," replied Twilight, failing to hide the silly smile on her face. "But there's a second potential category of censorship: unknown unknowns, by which I mean things that we think we know, but we actually don't. In other words, there could be avenues of research in astronomy that have been covered up with false data and inaccurate theories that look bulletproof, either to hide a truth, or to steer scientists away from a valid avenue of research. The most likely cases would be simple ideas we take for granted as true, because the experiments aren't done frequently. We should look into classic experiments and theories that are difficult to test and examine, especially those that form a cohesive theoretical foundation."
Moondancer nodded. "Hmm. Fake data could hide in a lot of places. I'll need to start poring over basic astronomy texts to come up with a list of potential experiments for us to retry," she said. "I think the biggest unknowns would be easier to list. I'll bet I can guess some of the ones you're thinking of, if you don't mind?"
"By all means," said Twilight, her eyes now fixed back on Moondancer's face.
"First of all, planetary epicycles are kind of weird. We have formulae that describe why the planets make these little backwards loops in their paths through the sky, and the formulae predict the motions perfectly," she said. "But they're kind of complicated equations without an underlying theory about where that unusual motion comes from. Science prefers the simple explanation, and epicycles aren't simple."
"Yes! That's definitely one of them. I'm curious how many we have in overlap: do you mind continuing?" asked Twilight.
Moondancer grinned. "Not at all. It's rare I get to spend time with a pony smart enough to understand my interests, let alone show off to them. You can actually appreciate what I have to offer."
"Well, it's rare I get to spend time with a pony who can show me new things about science," said Twilight, with a smile and a slight blush. "Except Starlight Glimmer, but she's older than I am and just as much of a nerd as the two of us."
"You mean just as much of a geek ," corrected Moondancer. "From what I hear, she's socially graceful. I usually don't think of that as 'nerdy'. But it might just be my definition."
"Good point, but yeah, I don't think those terms are well-defined," said Twilight. "I admire how well Starlight works with others. She's a natural leader. Granted, she's much better at convincing others to do her bidding than at friendship ... but she's a work in progress."
"Heh. If anypony can help her, Twilight Sparkle can," said Moondancer. "Anyway, let's see. Oh, here's another one: the Moon's craters."
"How is that an unknown? The Moon has always had craters on it."
"Yes, and it made sense during Nightmare Moon's imprisonment. But since her imprisonment, the Moon is a normal Celestial body again..." said Moondancer, waiting for Twilight to pick up the proverbial torch.
"...and as a Heavenly body, we should expect it to be perfectly smooth! Wow, I didn't even think about that one," said Twilight. "I'm surprised that never occurred to me. You know, I wonder if it gets hit by falling stars like the surface of Equus does?"
"That's an interesting idea, but we should list all the potential issues before we start brainstorming solutions."
"Right, right," said Twilight, quickly jotting down the idea on a spare scroll. "Keep it going, this is good stuff!"
"Let's see. Where comets come from, and why they have such an unusual orbital period, but that's an obvious unknown. Why Stars fall to the earth, and details about how they glow and twinkle when they're stuck to the Outer Celestial Sphere," said Moondancer. "Oh, and why do nebulae clouds never move or change? I'd expect the Deep Sky to behave like the Wild, because there almost surely aren't ponies up there."
"Check, check, and check. Those were all on my list. That's about all the big ones, I think," said Twilight. "Anything else?"
Moondancer paused in thought, then smiled. "One more. There's something I've been wondering about for a while. It's clear the Sun and Moon appear in front of the Planetary Spheres, and the Planets appear in front of the Stars on the Outer Sphere," she said. "We have little basis for estimating how far away the Spheres are from us, apart from the limiting factor of motion, and they move very slowly so they could be far away—possibly even more than a gigameter. However, the Sun and Moon have an interesting peculiarity due to the fact the distance to them is large, but still measurable."
"You've got me curious," said Twilight. "Let me check my knowledge of the facts. As the closest Heavenly objects, the projected centers of the Sun and Moon are each almost precisely ten megameters distant from the center of Equus at all times, which is, naturally, the Tree of Harmony. That distance is what the meter was based on, but the calculation wasn't perfect, so we have a second, more suitable definition we can measure in the lab which is defined by a particular wavelength of light."
"Correct. We also know they each have a diameter of one megameter, because each one subtends almost exactly 0.1 radians in the sky," added Moondancer. "However, the arctangent of 0.1 being very close to 0.1 radians is just a random mathematical coincidence."
"Exactly! You certainly know your Celestial bodies, Moonie," said Twilight, eyes bright.
Moondancer chuckled. "Well, of course I know you, silly. But I'd still like to know you even better, if you know what I mean..."
Twilight Sparkle's face scrunched up in confusion, then she laughed. "Oh, right, because my name is Twilight."
"Well, that's one of the reasons," she replied. Before Twilight had time to process the comment, Moondancer continued, "The perfect math—by which I mean the radius of each body being precisely one tenth the distance from their centers to the Tree—is what we would expect of the Heavens, so that's no surprise. However, consider the path by which the Sun and Moon move from horizon to horizon."
Twilight pursed her lips in thought. "I'm still not sure where you're headed with this," she said. "Princess Celestia or Princess Luna raises one of them up from below the horizon, maybe ten degrees or so into the air. Then they drift across the Heavens on their own over the next twelve hours, at which time they come to rest ten degrees or so above the opposite side of the horizon and hover there, waiting to be lowered."
"Do you know the spells?" asked Moondancer. "I thought you cast them once?"
Twilight shook her head. "I don't know them. I did cast them once, but that was after I absorbed Celestia and Luna's powers. I'm not sure how I did it exactly," she explained. "I've asked Celestia to see details about the spells several times. Her response has been that it takes a long time to teach the magic, and it would require months of one-on-one training that neither she nor Luna has time for. I think they need to make the time, though. Three out of the last four times Celestia and Luna were both captured, we didn't have a way to exchange the Sun and Moon."
"Four times, in less than three years? Seriously? Is getting captured a Princess's job, or something? How does this even happen?" said Moondancer, raising a hoof above her head in frustration.
Moondancer looked genuinely confused, so Twilight paused for a moment to ponder why.
"Huh. I guess that is kind of strange, now that you mention it," said Twilight. "It's fortunate I've been around to help over the past three years, but I presume the Tree plans these things. No, it isn't typical for them to get captured all the time. The recent events have been notable outliers."
"Maybe. It's suspicious to me that you've never seen the spells before, though," said Moondancer, scrunching her muzzle up in thought. "But let's return to the previous topic. How long does it take a princess to raise or lower the Sun or Moon?" asked Moondancer.
"I participated in the ceremony last year, so I'd better know the answer to that one! It's almost exactly twenty seconds," said Twilight. "The movement is highly regular. I hear Princess Luna sometimes has difficulty raising the Sun if she's subbing for her sister, in which case it takes a little longer to get it moving initially, but it still rises at the same pace," said Twilight.
Moondancer nodded. "Right again. Now do the math, Twi. How fast is the Sun or Moon moving?"
"I don't know, let me think..." Twilight closed her eyes while she performed the calculations. "Around five hundred kilometers per second, I think? Give or take a factor of two."
"Excellent, that's very close to the answer. Now, doesn't that seem a little fast to you?"
Twilight opened her eyes wide. "You're right. That's faster than the speed of sound in air!"
"And the Sun and Moon are not what you would call aerodynamic objects."
"There should be a tremendous sonic boom..." said Twilight, and she paused for a moment. "Although, at roughly nine point five megameters from the source, we're much too far away to hear it. It's probably audible on the other side of the Griffinstone Mountains, but I've never read anything about it in textbooks."
"I calculated once, and it would take about eight hours for the boom to reach us here in Canterlot. The air between here and there is more than enough to dissipate the sound along its journey," said Moondancer. "I think you'd have to be much closer to the edge of Equus than anything you can find on a map if you wanted to hear it. But think about the amount of energy required to move the Sun and Moon, Twilight! Even for an alicorn, it's an insane amount."
"I agree that's it's an almost unfathomable amount of energy, but even lifting the Sun or Moon by telekinesis is impossible. The magic comes from within the Sun and Moon themselves, obviously. The spells just activate the magic," said Twilight. "The Journal of the Two Sisters claims that before the princesses learned to do it, there was a chorus of ten unicorns who performed the task."
"I know. I've read a copy of your friends' Journal, and you included the original notes from the Sisters. Pretty much everypony in Equestria has read it by now."
"Oh my gosh," said Twilight, planting a hoof over her forehead. "That stupid thing has caused so much of a headache for my friends."
"Yeah, fame can do that. Don't worry, Twi, I know you don't let it go to your head," said Moondancer, placing a gentle hoof on her shoulder.
Twilight briefly wondered what the expression on Moondancer's face meant, but the touch felt welcome. Being close to Moondancer is nice. It took her a moment to realize she'd unconsciously placed her own hoof on her friend's.
Moondancer cleared her throat loudly, then removed her hoof. "Back to Equestria, Twilight. I have an important question, so think carefully. Do you believe that story from Princess Celestia's diary, the one about the unicorn chorus?"
For a moment, Twilight's brow furrowed in thought, then she gasped. "My Stars... Moonie, it can't be true! A unicorn chorus could supply more energy, but that can't be the limiting factor, since it doesn't rely on the energy of the casters. The spell must be an alicorn-level evocation. No chorus of unicorns could cast it. But that means..."
"It's fiction, embedded in a diary meant for others to read," said Moondancer.
"But why? We're taught that Harmony raised and lowered the Sun and Moon until the first unicorns evolved," said Twilight. "Why make something up about the unicorns when we could just say Harmony did it before turning the power over to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna? In an important historical journal, no less?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's because Celestia and Luna would have some explaining to do, otherwise. As in, where did those spells come from in the first place? How do they relate to the Tree of Harmony?" asked Moondancer. "If Harmony abandoned Sunrise and Moonrise before the Sisters were born, we wouldn't expect them to remember those details; details which have never been provided to students of astronomy. Now that we know that might not be the case, it seems like a glaring omission."
"Well... maybe. I don't know how much good speculation will do, but we'll need to think more on this," said Twilight. She followed up with a deep sigh. "All these lies. I just can't believe it. I know she's protecting us, but from what? And what does this have to do with Quifons?"
"We're not going to destroy some magical 'Quifons' place just by theorizing and looking through telescopes, Twilight," said Moondancer. "We should try to find out more."
"I agree, and I'm not about to give up yet. It's just unsettling. I want some answers, and I'd prefer Princess Celestia to be the one to reveal them," said Twilight. "But, realistically speaking, we need to write all of this down. Like, even our conversations. I'd suggest you keep a journal hourly, and make copies of it, and hide the copies. If she blanks our memories I want to be able to recover the work we've done. I'm not going back into ignorance." Twilight was trying her best to hold back tears, and barely succeeding.
Moondancer reached out and gave Twilight a hug. "It's okay. It bothers me too, and I don't even know the Princess that well, so I know this probably hurts you a lot," she said softly, then pushed back from the hug to look her friend in the eyes. "I'm sure there's a reason, and it isn't that Celestia has anything against you. The two of us are strong enough to get through this together, Twi. Right?"
Twilight smiled and wiped a tear from her cheek. "Yeah, I think so. Thanks, Moonie."
For a short time, neither mare spoke. They just regarded one another from opposite sides of Moondancer's thick lenses.
It's hard to see through those panes of glass, but I just noticed we have the same color eyes! Moonie and I have so much in common, it's eerie. You know, her eyes are really pretty... Does that mean my eyes are pretty too? Wait, why am I even paying attention to—
A scroll poofed into being just above Twilight's head, and bounced off of her horn on the way down. The little princess was so distracted she wasn't able to grab it with her magic until it had plopped onto the floor and rolled about a meter.
"I'm going to assume this is something important," said Moondancer, frowning slightly.
"I guess we'll see..." said Twilight. Then she opened the scroll and read it aloud:
Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle (Roaming),
Twilight, it's me, Spike. We have a little situation.
Somepony broke into the library in the middle of the night, when the main entrance to the castle was locked. I'm pretty sure it wasn't me sleepwalking, because I don't have magical sparkly horseshoe-shaped footprints. Starlight Glimmer left for Manehattan with Rarity before nightfall, so it wasn't her either.
I brought Zecora over in the morning, but the footprints had vanished while I was fetching her! Based on how I described them, Zecora thinks they were some kind of a magical residue that just faded away naturally, but she isn't 100% sure about that. She went back to her place to work on something she thinks will help (I don't know what that is yet).
Whoever it was, they made a huge mess in the library. There are more books on the floor than the shelves now, but fortunately there doesn't seem to be any significant damage to the books or the shelves. I thought maybe the intruder was searching for something, but it honestly looks more like a windstorm blew everything onto the floor. Oh, I hid the memory potion in your room before I went to bed, so it's safe! I figured you wouldn't want that to end up in the wrong hooves, heh. You can thank me later. Er, I guess you'll have to, because you're not here right now. You know what, never mind—I think I'm rambling again.
Pinkie and Maud are helping me put the library back together. I went to Pinkie first because I correctly suspected she'd have a great intuition for where certain books are on the floor. She helped me locate all the volumes I was looking for. That's why I didn't mail you about the library this morning—I wanted to check to see if anything important was missing first. Except for books currently being checked out, all of your favorite books are accounted for, plus all the books on magic theory and astronomy. (You know, because of the "thing" you're involved in? That "thing".) I was kind of surprised the books were still here. Maybe this is just a random coincidence?
...nah, I don't believe that either.
It'll be a while before we finish the inventory. The moment we're done, I'll send a follow-up letter with a list of missing volumes. You might want to come back before then and take a look at this yourself, though. Starlight isn't here, so the only magic specialist right now is Zecora—and her alchemy's different from the stuff you can do. But you know that already.
Your faithful number-one assistant,
Spike the Brave and Glorious (the dragon)
P.S. Pinkie is pretty worried (maybe Maud too, but I can't really tell), and I think it may be hard to keep this stuff a secret for much longer. I know you didn't want to involve your friends, but I'm pretty sure they're gonna have questions for you when you get back. So, you should probably plan for that.
P.P.S. Good luck guys, and please come back soon. I've been avoiding Applejack because she'll know if I'm hiding something, and I can't get away with it forever.
"Horse apples," mumbled Twilight. "Oh, um... I mean 'darn'. Heh."
Moondancer mock-gasped. "Twilight Sparkle! Mind your applebucking muzzle," joked Moondancer. Twilight couldn't help but chuckle, but it didn't help her mood much.
"Moonie, I practically just got here! I don't want to go back," she said. "I... I like being here with you." The Sun began to set, sending shadows dancing around Twilight and her friend.
"I don't want you to leave either," said Moondancer, with a frown. "But we both know you should. I can start my research here without you," she said. "You'll be safer in Ponyville, and you can coordinate the rest of the effort with your other friends. This research has several prongs, and no offense to Starlight Glimmer, but I'll bet I'm a little more trustworthy at this sort of thing than she is. I work well on my own, even if I'd rather have you by my side. You should probably go supervise the rest of your friends."
Twilight nodded her head gently. "Starlight's a good student, but yes, you are more trustworthy with research. Ugh, I just hate leaving now! I'd ask you to come along, but I know it makes more sense for you to do the work here," she said. As Twilight spoke, the sky finally went completely dark, along with the house. Moondancer's eyes quickly became invisible, except for the specular shine of her glasses. It comforted Twilight to see shimmering reflections of the rising Moon where she knew Moondancer's face must be. She waited a moment in the darkness before turning her horn on.
"Shh. No light," said Moondancer, tapping Twilight's horn with a hoof, and so she turned off the aura. "I want you to remember something important when you're away in Ponyville, and I think visual cues might be a distraction. I guess I don't need this at the moment, either." Moondancer grabbed her glasses with a hoof and tossed them aside.
"Oh? Sure, just tell—" said Twilight, then she gasped as she felt herself gripped on the shoulders and pulled upwards into a hug, with a firm but soft kiss on the lips. Twilight's lips parted slightly, and Moondancer cocked her head sideways. Then she felt her friend's tongue gently stroke the opening of her mouth. It wasn't intrusive; just a gentle lick against her parted lips, but...
What? Oh. Oh. Oh! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh—
Moondancer pulled her lips together, squishing Twilight's lips sideways into a pucker in the process. Then she gently smacked her lips against them with a wet-sounding kiss. All the while, one forehoof held Twilight upright by her back, and the other gently stroked her belly. Twilight struggled with her wings, but couldn't prevent them from snapping open all the way. Her wingtips did tiny, jerking flaps and flutters, the motions entirely beyond her conscious control.
Twilight had never felt anything quite like this set of queer sensations. Bellies feel highly unusual when a friend touches them gently. More investigation is warranted. Sooner, preferably.
She nearly collapsed as Moondancer slowly lowered her back to all fours. Several gentle kisses and pecks against her lips, cheek, and neck followed. Aside from the wings, all Twilight could do was gasp and—once or twice—kiss gently back against those wandering lips.
Then Moondancer's horn turned on. Her friend was smiling and blushing, and her eyes shimmered in the light of her soft, pale aura. "Stars, I hope that was okay for you. I just, um... I wanted to give you something to come back to," she whispered.
"Guh," said Twilight, her wings still twitching and flapping. "Oog. Guh, omm, um. Y-yo, okay. It's, um. Yeah, it is. Yes."
"Does that mean you want to try again sometime?" asked Moondancer. "I'm still pretty new to this friendship thing, so... I'm kind of flying blind when it comes to 'advanced friendship'." She smiled and winked.
"Y-yeah, advanced! Friendship. We should, um, study that s-sometime. More," said Twilight. She struggled to fold her wings in, finally getting them under control with great effort. "I... I'm not sure what just happened, but, it's fine, I think." Twilight smiled and placed a hoof on Moondancer's cheek. "I have n-no idea what any of this means. I know I like y-you a lot, but, yeah. That."
Moondancer breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, good. Now maybe you have the motivation to visit me more frequently," she said, playfully jabbing Twilight in the ribs.
"All, always the time, visit. Yes," said Twilight. "What... what even was that? I, wow. I can't believe I have to leave now. I need to come back and figure out what just happened. Seriously. I can't believe I'm saying this, but, this, whatever this weird thing, is... it might even be more interesting than astronomy!"
Moondancer giggled. "Well, we should have all the time in the world for that once the present crisis is over. As soon as we're past this, what's it called, um..." Moondancer paused, and the look on her face slowly drifted from bliss to confusion.
"Moonie? What is it?" asked Twilight Sparkle.
"It must have slipped my mind, I guess because the name was weird. Twi, I can't remember the name of that place. The one we were talking about just a minute ago? I can't even remember what it starts with," she said, and her facial features continued to drift, this time toward fear.
"You mean, um... Wait, it's on the tip of my tongue. No, scratch that, that's false; it isn't there at all! I can't remember it either," she whispered. "Oh no. Are we forgetting? Are we losing our memories? " Twilight had to focus to keep herself from hyperventilating.
Moondancer shook her head. "I don't think so, I can remember everything else about it! All the details of our conversation are still fresh in my mind, and I don't feel any gaps, except the name... I remember watching myself talk to you, and the description you gave of it being colorful and sparkly and impossibly beautiful, all the astronomy banter, even the details of Amethyst Eclipse's prediction," she said. "I'd chalk it up to nerves or something, but I can't even remember—"
"—the number of syllables in the word," murmured Twilight, finishing the thought. "Oh my Stars, Moondancer! It could be two letters long, or ten syllables—I literally have no idea what the word is like. I remember it was Lopin, and it sounds like a sneeze, but that's all that's left in my long-term memory. It's like, an empty space where Eclipse was saying the word. His mouth is blurry, and there's no sound, and I feel dizzy thinking about the moment. It's like, conceptual emptiness, or something..."
"I know, it's even like that when you and I were saying it in this conversation! That should still be in our short-term memories, Twilight. Dear Moon above," whispered Moondancer. "It's so weird remembering... a blur like that."
"How in all of Equus could we forget it? Oh... Oh no. Could Princess Celestia be erasing our memories remotely?" After asking the question, Twilight visibly shuddered.
"That's too horrifying for me to want to consider, but no. It must be something about the name itself," said Moondancer. "I think it's doing the thing to us that it does to foals, Twilight."
"Well, this is awfully creepy, but fascinating nonetheless. I wonder why it's only the name we can't remember? Unless..." Twilight galloped over to turn on a light so Moondancer could relax her magic, then grabbed a notebook from the coffee table. "I really hope my intuition is wrong on this."
"You think we're missing more than just the name, don't you?" said Moondancer. There was a pregnant pause while Twilight quickly scanned the pages of the notebook.
Finally, Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay. We're not. There's nothing in our notes about the place apart from what you just described," she said. "And it's... 'Quifons ', apparently?"
"Filly of a bitch. Twilight, I swear I've never heard that word before," said Moondancer.
"We've never heard it before," said Twilight, "again ."
"I can't even remember what came out of my mouth when I said it," said Moondancer, and then she laughed a crazy-sounding chuckle and sat down on top of some of the papers on the floor. "This is totally nuts. So, something magic stops adults from remembering Quifons; I get that. But why would we both forget the name of the place, and only the name, at the same time? What made that happen?"
"I have no idea," said Twilight. "Moondancer, I think it's time we took a break to write everything down."
"Right," said Moondancer, fumbling around on the floor until she found her glasses again. "Um, just to be forward about this, I'm including the kissing parts in my summary, Twi. In as much detail as possible."
"Oh, me too," said Twilight Sparkle. Her cheeks burned a moment later, and she added, "I m-mean, for scientific accuracy, of course."
"Of course," said Moondancer, with a wry grin.
Both mares spent the next two hours writing down notes from their experiences. In the process, Twilight's wings exploded open a total of four times. Twilight wasn't paying recursive attention to her own behaviors, but she took a quick peek at Moondancer's notes after they'd finished, and saw that her friend had taken a careful count of each wing-related event.
She's certainly thorough, thought Twilight.
And that brought the count to five.
Despite heavy fatigue, Twilight Sparkle was unable to sleep on the train ride home. Her brain swam with half-formed theories on the meaning behind Quifons, and occasional, pleasant (if confusing) thoughts of Moondancer. She kept pushing latter to the back of her mind. Having predicted her mental state would keep her awake, Twilight had purchased a regular ticket rather than one for the sleeper car.
She was deep in thought when a scroll appeared over her head. Before she had the sense to react, it flew straight across the aisle and slammed into a sleeping stallion's face.
"Mmph?" said the other passenger, flailing as he fell over onto the seat beside him.
Twilight quickly grabbed the scroll with her magic and pulled it over to her. "Sorry, sir," she said, although the pony had already returned to his slumber.
Wait... Something's wrong. Twilight realized the movement of the train must be why the scroll flew through the air, yet she was certain the magic shouldn't work that way.
"Scroll transport should account for the relative velocities of source and target," Twilight mumbled to herself. "I guess I've never received a scroll while moving at a high velocity relative to the sender before, but that shouldn't change theory..."
Shaking off the unexpected datum, she unfurled the scroll and quietly read it to herself:
Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle (Roaming),
It's me again. Sorry for the late-night scroll (I'm about to hit the hay myself), but I guess you can read this when you wake up.
There's good news and bad news. I've accounted for every book in the library, and only two of them are missing. The good news is that the first one is one of your extended copies of "The Journal of the Two Sisters and the Elements" (unless we miscounted the total number last week, which I doubt it). We still have twenty-three left, and there are like a million of those around Equestria anyway. No big loss.
The bad news is the other book was the library's only copy of "Burnferno, Warrior from Within"! That's like, my favorite book ever, and I just ordered our copy last week! I'll have to borrow Cheerilee's copy again the next time I want to read it. Of all the rotten luck.
I don't know why somepony would take a copy of the journal when they could get one pretty much anywhere, but as for the other book, our sparkly-hoofprint nemesis clearly has good taste in literature when it comes to dragon heroes with snappy comebacks. Apart from that, I have no idea what any of this means.
I assume Zecora is still doing research, but I haven't seen her since the previous scroll.
Come back soon, Twilight. I'm running out of excuses for Pinkie.
Your faithful (yet bummed) number-one assistant,
Spike the Brave and Glorious (the dragon)
The rest of the ride home was uneventful.
The castle door opened, revealing Spike.
"Wow. You look awful, Twilight," said the little dragon, as Twilight walked in and shut the door behind her.
"I'm not surprised. After the train ride back, I'm beat," said Twilight.
Spike was holding a scroll in his claws. "Your timing is uncanny, though. Your friends arrived in the throne room just a few minutes ago," he said. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm gonna guess they're trying to figure out what you've been hiding from them. They asked me to join them just a moment ago."
"Ugh," said Twilight, shaking her head. "I'll talk to them first, then sleep. Come with me," she said, and the pair of friends walked into the throne room together.
Inside, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash were seated in their respective thrones. Maud Pie was sitting in Spike's chair, and Zecora stood next to her.
"Hay, that's my throne!" said Spike.
"I was keeping it warm for you," explained Maud, who then stood back up. Pinkie Pie giggled as Spike took his seat.
"Ooh, it worked. Thanks!" said Spike.
Applejack spoke up. "So, Twilight. I'm thinkin' you and us need to chew the barley."
"What does that mean?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"She means we need to talk, Rainbow," said Fluttershy. Zecora nodded solemnly.
"Right. I figured this would happen eventually, so let's get started. Wait—Spike, what's on the scroll?" asked Twilight, taking her seat at his side.
"Oh, that?" said Spike, holding it aloft. "I was just composing a letter to you to tell you about your friends showing up. I didn't get any further than the title, so I guess I don't need this anymore."
Spike breathed fire on the scroll, which promptly reappeared, bounced off of a very tired-looking Twilight Sparkle's head, and back into Spike's claws.
"Huh. Lemme try again," said Spike, repeating the process: flame, bonk, catch. "Weird..." A third time: flame, bonk, catch.
"Spike, I'm too tired for this," said Twilight, watching as he did it a fourth time. "Spike! Stop perseverating! "
"I can't! I don't know what that means!" whined Spike, looking frustrated and helpless as he breathed fire onto the scroll yet again. By this point Pinkie Pie had doubled over in her throne with laughter.
On the last iteration, Twilight caught the scroll herself and crumpled it into Void with her magic. "There! Now can we focus? I'm about to fall asleep."
"Whew, thanks," said Spike, leaning back in his seat.
"Twilight Sparkle, if you're tired, we can wait 'till you've retired," said Zecora.
"Tired and retired? Does that really count?" asked Rainbow Dash. Applejack and Zecora both glowered at her.
"Ponies, please ," said Twilight, slumping over in her throne. "I'm much too exhausted to deal with shenanigans right now."
"We're sorry, Twilight," said Fluttershy. Twilight made a mental note that Fluttershy hadn't personally done anything shenanigans-related, but said nothing.
"I assume Zecora already told you everything she knows?" said Twilight.
"Nnnope," said Applejack. "She said it'd need to come from the unicorn's mouth, so to speak."
"Despite what I have seen and heard, I also need to hear a word—or two—from Twilight to explain, the secrets locked inside her brain," said Zecora.
Twilight sighed, then stretched in place, opened her eyes wide, and sat up straight in her throne. "Okay. I've been trying to keep this all below the radar because if something went wrong, I wanted to limit responsibility so nopony else would get in trouble. Are all of you certain you want to know more about this?"
"If you're gettin' in trouble, either you're doin' somethin' you know you shouldn't be, or else you're doin' something you could use our help with," said Applejack. "In either case, I think you know the answer's a firm 'yes'."
"What she said," said Rainbow Dash. "We're a team, Twi."
Fluttershy nodded. "Absolutely."
"Uh-huh!" said Pinkie, grinning. "Oh, and could you ask Spike to do the scroll thing again later? That was hilarious!"
"Hmph," said Spike.
"I don't mind getting in trouble, Twilight," added Maud, in her usual deadpan voice. "I'm naughty, like my sister."
Twilight took a deep breath. "Well, here goes everything," she said. "I'll give you the short-short version. Princess Celestia has a new protege named Amethyst Eclipse. He's Sparkler's colt from here in Ponyville. Eclipse is very powerful, having talent roughly on par with myself at that age, and he's even younger than I was when I could cast the spells he seems to be mastering. Privately, he predicted to me that I'm going to destroy a beautiful, magical world called Quifons. I'm fairly certain Celestia knows about his prediction, and she doesn't believe him. But I've learned that a realm called Quifons actually exists, and Celestia and her sister Luna have been keeping it a secret for longer than a millennium."
"So what did Princess Celestia have to say about this?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"I still haven't told her. Moondancer tried to go tell her about it in a surreptitious way that couldn't be traced back to me, but Princess Celestia didn't fall for our ruse. Celestia blanked her memories of the meeting and ordered her to monitor my activities. Moondancer agreed to spy on me, but secretly, she's still on my side," said Twilight. "I was able to recreate her memories of the event with magic, but the original memories are still locked in her mind with a magical booby trap of sorts that will probably inform Celestia if they're released or tampered with."
"Normally I'd complain about you goin' behind Celestia's back, but lockin' Moondancer's memories? That ain't right neither," said Applejack. "What the hay is goin' on, Twilight?"
"I'm not sure, but I have a few clues. I used Zecora's potion to have a vision of the past that showed me what Quifons is. It's some sort of realm tangentially accessible to Equestria like Tartarus, only unfathomably bright and beautiful. A copy of the Cutie Map used to exist in the War Room of the Castle of the Two Sisters, only it had two extensions to it that are missing from our Cutie Map: Tartarus on one side, and Quifons on the other," she explained. "Even a faded memory of the fuzzy hologram of Quifons—it didn't look like much more than a colorful, sparkly mist—was undoubtedly the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life. I can't get the image out of my head, even now. Whatever this place is, it must be composed of pure magic and beauty."
"Young foals know about it, too," added Spike. "Ponies and zebras both. They whisper about it to each other, but when you grow up, you forget you ever knew what it was."
"If an adult should overhear, the foals pretend a sneeze was near," said Zecora.
"I don't remember any place called Quifons," said Pinkie. "Wait! Have you tried talking to some foals?"
"Zecora age-regressed me and I tried to attack her when she insisted I tell her what it was. I forgot the entire experience afterwards," said Twilight. "I don't think foals will be receptive to our inquiries, but we should try. Starlight Glimmer is going to try using magic to get some answers out of any foals she encounters during her trip with Rarity to Manehattan."
Fluttershy cleared her throat and spoke softly. "Um, maybe I..."
"I really don't like the idea of stuff falling out of my brain. Even if it's just some weird, beautiful mist memory from foalhood, or something," said Rainbow Dash.
"What are Starlight Glimmer and Rarity doing in Manehattan?" asked Maud.
"They're going to try to steal an artifact from a museum. Er, borrow , I mean. Just temporarily, so we can see if it works," said Twilight.
"Twilight Sparkle..." said Applejack, planting a hoof over her face. "You are a princess , missy. You of all ponies should know better than this!"
"I might have an idea—" said Fluttershy, only to be interrupted by a defensive-sounding Twilight Sparkle.
"Guys, it's not nearly as bad as it sounds! Rarity's going to make a duplicate so the museum won't even know it's missing. We'll put it back when we're done," said Twilight. "It's a magic-measuring device that isn't supposed to work, but we suspect it might actually do something. My vision revealed that Celestia and Luna have been censoring knowledge in the fields of magic theory, astronomy, and 'nomenmancy' which must be some kind of proper name-based magic I'm not familiar with."
"Shouldn't you be worried about the prophecy?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Amethyst Eclipse may be just a foal, but you said he was really young—and if young foals know about Quifons, maybe he knows what he's talking about."
"Yeah, Twilight. Maybe trying to stop the prophecy is ironically what causes it, just like that time I wore a stretchy rubber outfit and Spike ate too much ice cream!" said Pinkie Pie.
"Ugh. I remember that. It was as terrible as it was delicious," said Spike.
"Ain't even gonna ask," said Applejack. "But the whole self-fulfillin' mess is somethin' I'm way too familiar with. It's the same hooey that happens when you start lyin' and thievin' left and right. There gotta be a better option than this, Twilight."
"Um, girls?" asked Fluttershy, in a mousey voice.
Zecora pursed her lips together for a moment. "I have a thought that some may like. To gain insight, Twilight and Spike, try the other big kahuna: seek the truth from Princess Luna ."
"That ain't a half-baked idea," said Applejack. "If Celestia won't listen to reason, maybe her sister will. Those two don't always see eye-to-eye."
Pinkie Pie nodded. "Yeah, what are the odds both Celestia and Luna would try to delete your memories?"
"But what if she does , Pinkie? I can't risk sending Moondancer a second—"
"GIRLS!!! " screamed Fluttershy, and everypony in the room recoiled in shock (except Maud).
"Wow. Yes, Fluttershy?" said Twilight Sparkle.
Fluttershy blushed. "I'm very sorry for speaking up like that, but... I was wondering if you might want to ask Discord about this? He probably knows something about it, and if you're doing something Celestia doesn't like... well, he wouldn't be very likely to try and stop you."
Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Discord... well, he's definitely an option," she said. "But please don't tell him yet. In my vision, Celestia and Luna called him their 'brother', and apparently he was the one who originally made the prediction that Quifons would one day be destroyed. I don't know how involved he is or where his loyalties lie."
"They lie with me, Twilight," said Fluttershy.
"She said loyalties , Fluttershy. Plural," said Rainbow Dash. "I agree Discord should be a last resort, but him being Celestia and Luna's brother? That kinda seems like important information you left out in your 'short-short' version, Twilight," said Rainbow Dash.
"I think we're gonna need the long-long explanation," said Applejack.
"Or maybe the short-long," said Pinkie Pie, "but at least the long-short."
"Well, I'm going to fall asleep soon, so here," said Twilight, as she reached into her saddlebags and pulled out a small journal. "All the details so far are in this book. You should all pass it around and learn as much as you can. Even after witnessing it second-hoof and writing it all down, I still haven't digested everything from the vision."
"You probably shouldn't eat visions," said Pinkie Pie, with a giggle. "Unless they're visions of gumdrops on Hearth's Warming Eve, of course."
"Twilight," said Maud Pie. "I'm concerned about the possibility of self-fulfillment that my sister mentioned earlier. What are you trying to accomplish?"
"Nothing more than basic research," said Twilight. "We're not even casting any unusual spells. Just researching things in books, testing a magical measuring device, and looking through telescopes. I don't see how any of that could destroy a magical realm we're not even visiting. That's why I'm reluctant to talk to the Sisters. We can learn more on our own first without endangering Quifons."
"Twilight, how can we help?" asked Spike. "I mean, Rarity's helping. Is there anything the rest of us could do?"
"If you're doing research, I could always look up information on the history of geology," said Maud. "Applejack told me she has a new friend who knows a lot about it."
"I do?" said Applejack, as a look of confusion turned to a grin. "Oh, Rockhoof! Yeah, he knows his rocks alright. He's fresh from more than a thousand years ago, so as long as it's ancient history, he might have what you need."
"I agree we're a team here, but I really don't want to involve the Pillars in this," says Twilight. "This is growing out of control. The more ponies we involve, the more likely Celestia is to catch on."
"I don't want to involve him. I just want to ask him some questions about rocks to see how views of geology have changed," says Maud. "I don't like the idea of scientific misinformation any more than you do, Twilight."
Twilight nodded. "Heh, sorry—I keep forgetting you're a scientist too, Maud. Go ahead and talk to Rockhoof, but please don't clue him in on anything else. As far as I know, geology textbooks haven't been affected like a, um, astronomy and madda... magics. Magic," said Twilight, blinking several times in quick succession.
"Twilight, I think you need to get some rest," said Fluttershy. "We'll take over from here."
"In the meantime, we should all agree not to tell anypony until we get Twilight's say-so," said Rainbow Dash. "Can we at least do that?"
Nods were exchanged across the Map.
"I'll take you to bed, Twilight," said Spike.
Twilight Sparkle stood up and started walking out of the room, then stopped and turned around. "Wait, I forgot something important you should know even before reading my notes," she said. "Something made Moondancer and I forget the word 'Quifons'. You should all take your own notes as much as possible, so if you ever forget something you learned, you can remember it again. We're not sure how it happened, but it was only the word itself we forgot, not any of the details. It happened shortly after the Sun went down, when we were kissing."
Pinkie GASPED and grinned from ear to ear. "Squee! "
"Heh," said Applejack, with a grin of her own. Fluttershy blushed. Rainbow Dash's wings exploded outwards and a look of shock crossed her muzzle. Zecora chuckled.
"That's hot," said Maud Pie.
Spike just stood there looking up to Twilight, his jaw wide open.
"What?" said Twilight, and her eyes widened. "Ohmygosh! I, I..." she said, blushing furiously.
"It's okay, Twilight," said Fluttershy, with a giggle. "I think you and Moondancer would be sweet together. Now go get some sleep."
"S-s-sleep, right." Twilight Sparkle turned and cantered out the door, and Spike ran after her.
"I'm so embarrassed," panted Twilight as she raced down the hallway. Spike ran into the master bedroom just before she slammed the door shut.
"Calm down, Twilight! You're tired, everypony knows that—"
"That is not what I meant," said Twilight, her voice cracking.
"Twilight? Um... you're crying," Spike pointed out. He stood back a pace and nervously bit at his lip.
Twilight sniffled and rubbed her eyes with a fetlock. "I... I am?" she said. "I don't understand any of this. But that journal... it has all the details about me and Moonlight—Moondancer..."
"Oh colt. Do you want me to take it away from them, or something?" said Spike.
Twilight shook her head. "They need to know the other data. Just... just... I don't know. It's fine. It'll be okay."
"Try to get some sleep, alright?" said Spike, his claws gently petting her flank. "Unless you want to talk about it first?"
"Not now, but you're right," said Twilight. "I'll be better after I sleep. Thanks, Spike. You're such a good friend." She hugged him tightly, and then he walked out of the room mumbling something about Maud being right.
Twilight collapsed onto her bed and immediately fell into a deep torpor.
Moondancer stood tall upon a golden pedestal. Her glasses were framed in silver wire, and her mane was braided. She wore what appeared to be the formal clothes of an Equestrian prince.
"Moondancer? What are you doing up there?" asked Twilight Sparkle, climbing the many steps toward the top of the pedestal.
"I'm waiting for you," said Moondancer.
As Twilight approached, she noticed something strange behind the specular reflection of her friend's lenses. Moondancer's eyes were closed, and her eyelids sunken in. Looking lower, Twilight saw that her royal jacket bore what appeared to be a war medal. The ribbon was silvery, and the medallion itself was a tiny cloud of sparkling mist. It was that same beautiful mist Twilight couldn't seem to get out of her mind.
The tiny image of Quifons floating on Moondancer's chest was even clearer here in the dream than it had been in her vision. Twilight couldn't understand how something so simple could be so fascinating—it took all of her willpower to tear her eyes from it. Her gaze returned to her friend's face, just in time to see Moondancer open her eyes.
An image of deep space appeared where Moondancer's eyes should have been: an inky black void filled with dusty nebulae and an endless smattering of stars, framed by silver wire and those big, bushy red eyebrows above. As she stared into her eyes, Twilight's sight began to darken. Once again Twilight couldn't pull her gaze away from what she was staring into. But unlike the cloud of mist, this apparition was painful to behold. As she stared into the abyss, her head began to throb: first in ache, then in agony. Now she could see nothing but the darkness of the abyss, as little flashing lights winked at the periphery of her vision...
Twilight began to hyperventilate, but even that was fading from her awareness. She didn't have a body. Only the terrible pain and the darkness were real. Maybe she didn't even ex—
Everything disappeared, which thankfully included the pain. Now Twilight stood alone inside her own throne room, staring down at an activated Cutie Map. She instantly gained an awareness that what she was experiencing—even now—wasn't real.
"Are you alright, Twilight Sparkle?" came a familiar voice. Twilight turned around to see Luna entering the room.
"Princess Luna? What are you... Oh, thank goodness. This is a dream," realized Twilight. "How long have you been watching me?"
"Long enough to be concerned, but your troubles are clearly of a personal nature. We do not need to discuss them at this time if you do not wish to. However, a word of warning: please take care not to neglect your mental health," said Luna.
Not knowing what to respond with, Twilight simply nodded.
"If you are bothered by my presence, I can leave," said Luna. "I came to see you because I wished to request something of you, but I sense from the atypical nature of your dreams that this may not be a good time."
"No, it's fine," said Twilight, internally welcoming the distraction of somepony else's problems. "What can I do for you?"
Luna raised a brow, then nodded. "Very well. I shall be brief," she said. "I hear tell that you have recently met with Amethyst Eclipse, Celestia's new personal student."
Twilight bit her tongue hard, and it bled—an unwelcome consequence of Luna's proximate lucidity. She swallowed. "Um, yes, but only briefly. He's very gifted, though he seemed a little... disturbed?"
Princess Luna nodded. "I concur with your assessment. Twilight, I have an unusual circumstance to report which concerns the colt," revealed Luna. "On this past eve and the one previous to it, I have been unable to locate Amethyst Eclipse's dream self in the realm of dreams. I spoke with his mother, who insisted that his sleep has been undisturbed. Nonetheless, somehow his mind remains hidden from my sight. This should not be possible unless he struggles with a sleep disorder."
"I don't know. Maybe he's... somewhere else?" asked Twilight. "I mean, when we defeated the Tantabus, it was trying to break into the waking world. Are there any connections between the dream world and another place that a foal's dream self could navigate?"
A look of deep concern marred Luna's delicate features. "That is a queer question, Twilight. Apart from a magical connection that only I and creatures of pure magic are able to construct, the only conduits between the waking and dreaming worlds are the minds of dreamers," said Luna. "Furthermore, animals can only use their own minds for this purpose, not the minds of others, even when dream spaces are shared. Travel between the two realms should not be accessible in any other way. Although, if there were a realm connected to all others..." Luna's voice began to trail off.
"Luna?" asked Twilight. "What are you talking about?"
It has to be Quifons. Please tell me, thought Twilight. Give me an excuse to know.
"I... cannot say, Twilight. It was just a thought," said Luna. "I shall speak with my sister now. Please keep me informed should anything unusual happen."
"Heh, well, you know me. Pretty much every day is an adventure," said Twilight, with a sheepish grin.
"True," said Luna. "Let us restrict the criterion to 'extra-special unusual', in that case. Good morrow, Twilight."
Luna's body disappeared in a flash of light. Moments later, the dream began to fade in intensity, and then Twilight awoke.
Twilight Sparkle walked into her bathroom and opened the cabinet to retrieve a curry comb. Sitting there was Zecora's potion, clearly where Spike had hidden it.
She immediately ran to get her saddlebags, returned with the small glass, and sat down on the hard but warm crystal flooring.
What should I ask of the potion this time?
From previous experience with the potion, Twilight knew that a simple repeat query of 'What is Quifons?' would provide more information. This was the most straightforward choice. However, a more directed approach might be helpful.
Twilight fought off the urge to ask, 'What does Quifons look like?', worried that it might affect her emotionally—and that wasn't something she wanted to deal with at the moment. Instead, she chose a more pointed question: something simple and specific. Twilight remembered there was more to Princess Celestia's argument with her sister than a random prophesy by Discord. Filling that gap would be a good place to begin.
Why did Celestia decide to remove our memories of Quifons?
Twilight downed the shot.
This time she didn't grimace or even hesitate to swallow. It wasn't pleasant, but she was growing used to the taste of the mucusy fluid. Strange what necessity can do to a pony, thought Twilight.
Wait a moment. What was that place called, again?
"Oh no," gasped Twilight, but the vision spirited her away before she could react.
The roaring waterfall thundered deep into the apex of a horseshoe-shaped ocean bay, sending its salty spray drifting back up to the top of the plateau. Here, the scent of sea salt mingled with strong odors from the local flora. This place seemed oddly familiar, but Twilight Sparkle was certain she'd never been here. The waterfall blended rainbowfalls from above into fresh water in much the same way as Winsome Falls in the Everfree did, and the bay below bore a remarkable resemblance to a miniature version of Horseshoe Bay from the Eastern shores of Equestria. But those two features were normally separated by more than a thousand kilometers.
It couldn't be Winsome Falls no matter how far into the past she'd traveled. Twilight could see the ocean vista stretching out into infinity from here, and Winsome Falls was so far from the ocean you couldn't see it, not even from this height. As much as this land resembled Equestria, this place was nowhere on the map.
"Am I in... that place?" mumbled Twilight, as she struggled in vain to remember the name. If this land were somehow related to Quifons, it didn't look anything like the sparkling misty visage she'd seen before. There was nothing more magical here than your run-of-the-mill rainbowfalls pouring out of clouds and down to the ground below.
However, there was one remarkably unusual thing, far above her: the Sun was larger. Around twice its normal size in the Heavens, Twilight estimated. But it was no warmer here than a typical day in early Summer, and the sky was otherwise unremarkable.
Twilight stared for a long moment over the edge of the cliff before focusing her attention on the cosmopolitan array of busy ponies working all across the plateau. A vast clearing had been constructed here on the falls-side of the tall mesa. Gaping holes in the earth were still being leveled out, and the enormous trees which had probably occupied them were being carved into buildings and other structures by a team of unicorn artisans. In the distance, trees of less unusual size swallowed the landscape. The Sun above failed to penetrate the dense woods, which looked to Twilight like an identical copy of the Everfree Forest.
An even larger hole resembling a strip mine covered most of the open area. The walls of the pit were being reinforced by masonry. The structure was so gigantic it could only have been a pre-planned city sewer, or possibly an underground keep much larger than the Castle of Friendship. From out of the forest, gryphons and earth ponies dragged large, chiseled stones over to the walls of the pits where zebra laid them in place and secured them together with something resembling a white, glowing cement. Small, colorful dragons breathed fire onto the cement, hardening it instantly into stone. Overhead, pegasi kept the skies clear and carefully directed bursts of air down to the plateau in a pattern Twilight didn't understand.
But the most unusual part of all was the children. Foals of all races ran around underhoof, laughing and playing in the middle of all the complex and focused construction. Adults grumbled, but walked carefully around them without speaking a word of reproach.
Several tents dotted the area, most of them constructed from unusually large, shiny leaves sewn together with what looked like hemp rope. One tent was twice the size of the others. It was decorated with symbols of the Sun and Moon. As Twilight tried to take in her surroundings, a worker accidentally walked through her apparition, briefly surprising her.
"Okay, that tent has to belong to Celestia and Luna," Twilight decided out loud, then walked up to the large tent and phased her body through the closed flap.
Inside the tent, the Sisters sat on an expensive-looking carpet adjacent to a short, wide wooden table.
"...happened since my leave, dear Sister?" Luna finished asking. Twilight Sparkle sat herself down next to Princess (or Queen?) Celestia, briefly stirring up fond memories.
"We've lost another ten grownups over the past week alone," said Celestia. "Work is slowing to a halt. There's too much to do, and grownups cannot focus with children about. They want to join them."
"Lost ten grownups? To the Saddeth?" said Luna.
"Right off the cliff," said Celestia, motioning with a diving hoof. "It's a convenient method. It takes a split second to do, they rarely survive once they hit the ground, and the destruction is far enough away to avoid sending foal witnesses into the Change."
"We need more grownups who are dedicated to managing the children, so we can keep them away from the workers. Some grownups can care for the citizens' needs during the day, while others work," said Luna. "If the work must slow... that is acceptable, if unfortunate. Eventually, the City of Everfree shall stand like a beacon to all of Equestria."
"We have a hard time getting enough grownups just to do the work," said Celestia. "There must be a way to make them want to be grownups, or this will keep happening. If We have grownups controlling foals, then our citizens will resent grownups and avoid the Change."
"It would also make the freedom of foals an ironic casualty. Grownups are intended to provide our citizens with more freedom, not less," said Luna.
"Perhaps a small restriction on freedom upon Theia would not limit the enjoyment of foals," said Celestia. "Foals are free to enjoy Quifons no matter where they are connected on Theia. Giving grownups some measure of control over Theia would go a long way toward making the Change a positive experience."
Quifons! That's what it's called! thought Twilight. How did I forget the name, again? Was it something I did?
"Hrm. If we make it too much fun to be a grownup, then citizens may be lured out of Quifons too quickly. That premature loss of citizenship will lead to resentment, which will make the fun comparatively worthless," said Luna. "There is no fun equal to Quifons, Celie. Being a grownup needs to be a chore. It is a service to a former citizen's brothers and sisters." Luna lowered her head into a reproachful gaze.
Celestia paused in thought. "Lulu, We have an idea. Perhaps We could entice them with treats that only grownups will like," said Celestia. "Give them some kind of fun that is naturally repulsive, but pleasurable only to grownups. Then citizens would not look forward to the Change, but once the Change has transformed them, they will enjoy the experience."
"Foals will want to participate in any fun-seeming behavior, at least to try it once," said Luna, her brow tightly knitted.
"Then make it truly repugnant, and keep it away from foals altogether," said Celestia.
Luna shook her head. "This sounds unreasonable. The whole point of grownups is that they are more rational than citizens. They are supposed to be mature. It makes little sense to instill repugnant behavior in them. Besides, foals are more likely to enjoy disgusting things, particularly the ones of Male," she said. "However, the idea is intriguing. We suppose all options must remain on the table."
"It may be years before We discover a method to fully resolve this, Lulu. For the time being, We should attempt to segregate the grownups into groups: one to watch the foals, and the other to work," said Celestia.
"Reasonable enough for experiment," acquiesced Luna. "Perhaps We could try adding pleasure to physical consumption? The process of eating this 'food' may extend pleasure beyond sweets, and perhaps grownups could have a broader palate—"
Luna stopped talking as the tent flap opened. In drifted a draconequus. He resembled Discord except that his appearance was more cartoonish in nature. For one detail, Twilight noticed he had no visible genitalia. Twilight wasn't trying to look for his genitalia, but it was a part of her chaotic acquaintance that was difficult to miss.
The draconequus raised a brow and looked directly at Twilight Sparkle. He then took a seat. "Well, well. Three Queens, now, are We?"
"You are not a Queen," said Queen Celestia. "You are a King. We have gone over the distinction previously, King Chaos."
"It is Demon, not King; Discord, not Chaos; and I wasn't talking about myself, but I do appreciate all this delicious confusion," he said, licking his lips. "I overheard you discussing further remedies to The Decision, and was curious about how you might decide to ruin your citizens this time around."
"You do not get to rename yourself at will!" huffed Queen Luna.
"If you have ideas, O Demon Discord of Chaos, We would love to hear them," said Queen Celestia, briefly glaring in Luna's direction.
"I have one, yes. I call it Fear," said Discord.
"What is this Fear?" asked Luna.
"It is like Pain, but not nearly as severe. It is like the shock of a foal punched directly into the Change, but not nearly as shocking. It is a quiet, hidden mouse within the mind of a pony, cautioning them about what not to do," said Discord. "Instead of reliance on pleasure to guide them, Fear forms a stronger boundary. It is like the hazy memory of Pain which has not yet been inflicted."
"Why would We ever agree to burden our citizens further?" asked Celestia, frowning.
"Not citizens," said Discord. "The grownups. Make them fear the Saddeth, and they will avoid it. Perhaps a touch of Fear in the foals will help to keep them safe as well."
Luna sighed. "This... is not altogether a bad idea, Celie," said Luna. "Provided this Fear is nothing like Pain."
Discord's lips turned up into a cruel-looking smile. "Oh, it is very different," he said. Twilight winced.
"We may test your theory, Demon of Chaos," said Queen Celestia. "But why else are you here, if not to torment our citizens? We told you to stay clear of the creation of the Castle and City. It was not a conditional order."
"I haven't intruded in anything, you spoilsports." Discord rolled his eyes 360-degrees around in his head. "Now then. Aren't you going to introduce me?"
"Introduce you...?" said Luna, her eyes narrowed skeptically.
"Who is this lovely creature? Clearly she is one of the Twelve, but I do not recognize her aura at a glance. Is it Venus reborn, perhaps? No... she resembles Star more than anything, yet she is certainly not he," said Discord, as he leaned in to stare directly at Twilight.
Twilight's eyes widened. "You... you can see me?" she whispered.
"Chaos, what are you talking about?" said Celestia. "I am glancing into Quifons as we speak, and I see no imaginary link to Soul before us."
"Sister! I see a slight, ephemeral outline," said Luna, squinting at Twilight. "It is a unicorn—no, a pegacorn! It is a Queen! She is barely visible before my eyes." Celestia and Luna both quickly scrambled away from Twilight as Discord cackled.
"I'm...um, I'm just an observer," said Twilight, faking a smile. "Please, don't mind me."
"I see nothing, Sister," said Celestia. "I am trying, but there is nothing there."
"Of course you see nothing," said Discord. "We are in your memories, after all."
"That makes no sense," said Luna. "I am certain I am not in my Sister's memories, Brother."
"You aren't now, but you shall be. At another time, in another place, all of this shall come together into one Mind: hers," he said, pointing directly at the spot where Twilight sat. "Just not today, from your point of view." He swiftly reached out and grasped Twilight Sparkle by the throat. "So rude not to provide your name to us, little one."
"T-Twilight S-sp..." she gasped, holding Discord's taloned arm with both hooves in an attempt to loosen his grip. She pulled at his claws with her magic, but his strength was much stronger than her telekinesis.
"What a curious name for a Queen," he said, and dug a claw into her chest. Twilight felt a stab of pain, and a trickle of blood down her hide. "Oh look! It bleeds like a mortal. Perhaps it is not a Queen after all?"
"Discord, do not injure it until we know what it is!" said Luna. "If it speaks, surely Friendship can reach it."
"And it already knows Fear! Oh, this one knows Fear very well. Excellent..."
Twilight Sparkle teleported right out of Discord's grasp and over the side of the plateau, then let gravity pull her swiftly toward the ground below.
The pain was very real, but she was inside Princess Celestia's memories . She always assumed seeing this was like a watching a dream. How could she possibly interact with the past? Could she actually be injured here? Could she die in another pony's memories?
Quickly, Twilight spread her wings wide and pulled up, focusing on all of the lessons she had taken with Rainbow Dash. She'd been falling too quickly, and she struggled to keep her wings from being thrashed by the upward rush of humid, salty air. Twilight angled her wings downward somewhat to keep them intact, but this made it slower to pull up.
"Have to pull it off... just right...! " she said, aiming for a hyperbolic arc up against the horizon. Her wings ached as her descent finally curved into an level direction mere hooves from the surface of the choppy ocean water.
Exhausted, Twilight quickly folded her wings to her side, then realized this was a remarkably stupid idea. She was still traveling at a rate of many kilometers per hour, only horizontally. Twilight yelped as her body slammed into the water and skipped upward several times in a row. She tried to spread her wings again, but they were wet and she began spinning from her collisions with the surface of the water.
"I apologize for the poke," said Discord's voice from somewhere nearby, though Twilight could barely see anything through the water and mist and spinning sky. "I was just so curious! You really should learn proper manners, you know. Also, I suspect you won't like what will happen if you travel much further along your present heading, but I have a feeling we shall meet again."
Twilight immediately spread her legs and wings, flailing in a very non-aerodynamic fashion. She slipped beneath the surface of the water and quickly slowed to a halt. Thankfully, this included an abrupt reduction in angular momentum. Finding what felt like 'up', she swam to the surface and gasped for breath.
Something was wrong. This far from land it was much darker out, and everything looked and felt hazy and insubstantial. It almost felt like the water was flowing through her body. She tried to swim toward the distant shore, but she could no longer kick against the fluid which blended with her body.
"This can't be part of Celestia's memories," she gasped, feeling tired and dizzy. "Please, wake up..."
Twilight Sparkle gasped and kicked against the bathroom floor, suddenly awake. The flask had been knocked over, but fortunately it hadn't been damaged. A small amount of goo was spilled on the floor. Upon regaining her bearings, she sat up and used telekinesis to right the flask and clean up the spill with tissues. It looked like there were two, or perhaps three doses of the potion still remaining in the flask.
"Discord," she whispered. "Horseshit. He's the last pony I wanted to see."
Just then, right in front of her eyes, a gout of red-and-cyan flame burst into a wadded-up cocktail napkin, which then launched itself at her face. She reflexively blinked as it bounced off of her nose.
Twilight opened the napkin to find writing on it, spiralling out from the center to the outer rim in a colorful mixture of chromatic blacks. It read:
Princess Twilight Sparkle! I suppose you weren't a Queen after all, and certainly not one of the Twelve, whatever that means (ha ha). How naughty of you to visit from the future without proper introductions! I am truly sorry about the claw, but you're young (very, very young compared to the rest of Us), so I'm sure you'll heal up good as new in no time at all. It was a marvelous bit of chaos you caused on that day! I'm so proud of you. Oh—
"Oh?" said Twilight, shortly before a wad of newsprint bapped her in the side of the head. She grumbled and uncrumpled the second paper, on which was printed a portion of an article from a clearly fictitious newspaper:
Review: Discord Live Gets Six Stars! (from page 3)
—I suppose you have many time-consuming questions for me. I'm afraid I don't have answers to the most interesting ones, such as whether or how you're going to destroy Quifons . I honestly hope you won't. Without Quifons, I might have a more difficult time existing, and that would be inconvenient. But unlike what 'Queen' Celestia will try to convince you, nothing lasts forever. Except for everything, that is, but everything is always something.
I'm sure Fluttershy will convince me to talk to you eventually, so I'm opting to stay at home for now. Info dumps are boring and make for spectacularly poor writing, don't you think? Mysteries are much more interesting when you have to piece them together for yourself. I will offer you a single clue, however...
History isn't what it used to be.
Twilight Sparkle stared at the paper for a moment.
"Is that all?" she said, looking left, right, and up for the next wad of who knows what to smack into her face, but nothing appeared. The reverse side of the newsprint looked to be part of a large crossword puzzle with all the clues and numbers missing, and the reverse side of the napkin had nothing but a kiss-smear of yellow lipstick.
Twilight tried her best not to think about Discord wearing yellow lipstick and other horrendously gaudy cosmetics, and failed miserably.
She took a deep, cleansing breath, then slowly exhaled. "Okay. This is probably good news, Twilight," she said to herself. "He'll talk eventually, and in the meantime, we can keep our research simple and risk-averse."
Somepony was knocking on her bedroom door. "Twilight?" called a familiar voice.
"Come in, Spike," she said. It was only just now occurring to her how exhausted she was from the ordeal. Twilight realized she could still smell the ocean, and her coat felt a bit damp.
"Twilight!" Spike gasped, running up to her. "Are you okay?"
"I think so. I'm just really tired," she said as Spike helped her to her hooves.
"Um..."
"Yes?"
"You're bleeding, Twi," said Spike, pointing at her chest.
Twilight looked down at the small gash in her chest. It didn't hurt much, but she felt a twinge of sympathetic pain hit her in the gut.
"Go get the first aid kit, Spike. I'll head to Ponyville General, just in case."
Spike nodded and raced out the door.
Twilight squirmed where she lay in darkness. It felt like there were sandbags glued to her eyelids, but with great effort she pried them open. It was dimly lit in... the hospital room?
"What... where am I?" she said, coughing. Looking around, she saw that Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were standing by her side, along with an unfamiliar nurse who was currently taking her vitals. An IV was in one of her legs, and whatever had recently been injected into it was burning through her veins.
"Oh thank Celestia!" said Pinkie, leaping onto the hospital bed. The nurse stared daggers at her, but Pinkie ignored it as she gave Twilight an awkward cuddle-hug. "We were so worried about you!"
"We came as soon as we heard, Twilight," said Rainbow Dash. "I mean, we knew it wasn't anything you couldn't handle—"
"Why am I here? I don't remember any of this." Twilight looked around the room, her muzzle scrunched up.
Three other pairs of eyes glanced back and forth. "Twilight, your chest was injected with a gargantuan dose of platypus poison," said the nurse, finishing up his measurement of Twilight's blood pressure. "Even an enormous dose like the one you received is unlikely to be fatal, but the pain simply wasn't manageable. It didn't respond to morphine, which is typical for this kind of poison. We needed to place you into an artificial coma until we could prepare a remedy, so you've been unconscious for several hours. Fortunately, Zecora brought us a drug to counteract the poison, which saved us another day of wait time."
"But my memory... Holy cow. The pain must have been so terrible it caused anterograde amnesia!" said Twilight.
"It appears so. Those memories are unlikely to come back, but you're honestly better off without them," said the nurse. "Pinkie Pie, please get off the patient."
Pinkie rolled off the bed with a gentle shove from the nurse, then hopped back to her feet. "We just got here while they were administering the antidote thingie, and then mister nurse here said he could wake you up after the doctor gave him permission."
"You should be fine, but that wound will require care over the next few weeks to keep it from festering," he said, motioning to Twilight's chest. Beneath her hospital gown she could feel a large, thick gauze bandage on top of the spot, which still ached slightly. "Platypi aren't native to this area. How in Equestria did this happen?"
"It was Discord," said Twilight, with a sigh. Seeing the look of rage on Rainbow Dash's face, she added, "He already apologized for it, and it wasn't exactly his fault. It's a long story, but the short version is that it took place in the distant past."
Dash rolled her eyes. "Twi, you have got to quit this time-travelling nonsense." An incredulous look crossed the nurse's face.
"It wasn't time travel this time—er, not exactly, anyway. Nurse, could we have some privacy?"
The nurse nodded in response. "As you wish, Princess. Your vitals are normal, but it will take a few more hours before you can walk again. The doctor will be checking in with you shortly," he said, then left the room and shut the door behind him.
Twilight waited for a moment before speaking in a hushed tone. "Girls, I had another potion vision. I was inside Celestia's memories, but somehow I was able to affect the past through the vision," she said. "It doesn't make any sense, but I suspect it was Discord's weird abilities, not the potion itself. He could tell that I'd be looking through Celestia's memories in the future, and he took that opportunity to attack me through time."
"Well, I still plan to give that jack a piece of my mind!" grumbled Rainbow Dash. "Not to mention my rear hooves."
"Wait, this was before he was reformed, right? We can't blame him for that," said Pinkie Pie.
Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Okay, but why didn't he remember meeting you in the past? He should have warned you about it after he became our friend!"
"I don't know. Maybe he had to let it happen to avoid a paradox, or maybe he just felt embarrassed about it," said Twilight. "He doesn't want to talk about it yet, but I'm still going to ask Fluttershy to contact him as soon as possible. Where is she?"
"Applejack and my sister went to get Rockhoof, and Fluttershy went to see Meadowlark with the same plan. She's not going to tell her anything, just ask about the past," said Pinkie.
"It figures that Discord would be involved in this," said Dash. "At least he's not likely to tell Celestia, I guess."
"I'm not sure he is involved, to be honest. I'll write down a summary of my experience and let everypony read it later, but I haven't had time to completely digest it myself."
The door to the room opened, and Spike rushed inside, shutting it behind him. He leaned back against it, panting heavily. "Whew. Oh, Twilight! Thank Celestia you're okay! You're okay, right?"
"Yes, Spike. What's going on?" asked Twilight.
"Princess Luna just showed up at the Castle of Friendship. She wants to talk to you. I told her you were out running errands and then I rushed over here to check up on you," he explained, then stopped a moment to catch his breath. "If, uh, if you're okay to walk, you should head down to see her. It seems important, and she wasn't keen on the idea of coming back later."
"She met with me in my dreams last night," said Twilight. "She was concerned that Amethyst Eclipse wasn't appearing in the dream realm when he slept. If she's here in person, something new must have come up. Open that cabinet, could you? I need a bandage and cotton ball because I'm going to pull out this IV."
"Maaaaybe you should wait for the doctor, Twily," said Pinkie Pie, grimacing.
Twilight shook her head. "No time, and they'll understand. Pinkie, stay here to get the doctor's orders in case there's anything I should know. I'm sure there isn't anything vital, but maybe they have a prescription for antibiotics or something. Spike, I'm going to teleport the two of us to the Castle."
"Twilight, I really think you should listen to Pinkie on this one," said Spike.
Rainbow Dash retrieved a small adhesive bandage. "I hope you know what you're doing," she said.
Deftly, Twilight used her magic to slip out the IV and clamp the tiny wound, then apply the cotton ball and bandage. Her magenta aura lingered over her leg as she applied pressure. With a hoof, she threw off the covers, then leaped out of bed and crashed right onto the floor. A partially-filled bag of urine plopped gently beside her.
Spike ran over and grabbed her, helping her to her hooves. "You're not in any condition to teleport, Twilight." He hugged her tightly.
"I'm okay! I need everypony to know I'm okay," she said, her head wobbling. "Nopony can know—I mean, I'm perfectly capable of whatever we were going to do, to do. Anything. That. Let me go. And help me take off this ridiculous gown, it makes me look like an invalid."
Twilight Sparkle paused for a moment, and it looked as though she were about to vomit onto the floor. Rainbow Dash quickly lifted Twilight back into the bed and put the covers back on her. "New plan. Princess Luna's coming here," she said. "We'll just tell her you got stung by a platypus, which is basically true."
Twilight's face grew angry, but it was met by three sympathetic stares. "Okay! Fine! I don't need to be here, but whatever. I just need a few minutes, and I have to pull out this stupid catheter."
"Pinkie Promise me, Twilight," said Pinkie Pie. "While we're gone, you will not try to get out of bed or remove that catheter unless the doctor tells you to."
Twilight rolled her eyes, but half-heartedly responded with the motions of a Pinkie Promise. "I won't leave my bed until I talk to the doctor. Happy now?"
Spike breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Pinkie and Dash out of the room and shut the door.
Twilight frowned and snorted. She waited a few moments, then cast a spell to eavesdrop on her friends. The mere act of casting a spell gave her a brief but painful headache.
"...always acts like this when she's incapacitated. It's really, really important to Twilight that she has the ability to steer everything around her. She can't stand feeling like she's out of control," whispered Spike.
"I guess that makes sense," said Dash. "She didn't bother to make friends growing up, and she was probably under a ton of pressure as Celestia's student."
Twilight brushed aside a tear, wondering if what they were saying were actually true. Horsefeathers, Spike. Why can't you keep your mouth shut?
"Exactly. It's almost like she needs to prove to Princess Celestia that she deserves to be her student, even when Celestia isn't around," said Spike. "I don't think she's ever been able to accept the fact that she's a success."
"That's so super-sad!" said Pinkie Pie. "Can't we help her?"
"I can hear you! " shouted Twilight, and the voices went silent.
Twilight sighed again and cancelled the spell. She closed her eyes to rest them for just a moment, and fell asleep almost instantly.
A gentle nuzzle to Twilight's chin roused her from her nap. Her eyes fluttered open. Princess Luna was standing over her. Behind Luna stood Rainbow Dash and a doctor.
"Greetings, Twilight Sparkle. I am sorry for your recent misfortune, though I am curious how a platypus could have stabbed you in the chest," said Luna. "Are you right?"
Twilight nodded. "I am. I was, um, tending some of Fluttershy's animals while she's away from Ponyville," she said, punctuating it with a yawn and a stretch of her legs. "I feel much better now. Wait, the catheter's out? Wow. If I slept through that I must have been really tired. I'm not sure why, given that I've been asleep all day."
"A medically induced coma isn't quite the same as sedation, princess. We didn't know how long you'd need to be kept under, so we decided not to take any chances with the health of your brain," said the doctor. "Anyway, you should be good to leave whenever you feel stable enough to walk. I'll release you to the care of your friends, who should take you home straight away. I'd like you to stay there for the day and keep yourself to minimal activity until tomorrow, and no strenuous activities for the remainder of the week."
"Thanks. I think I'll try to get up now," said Twilight, and Rainbow Dash and the doctor helped her out of the bed. She stood on slightly-shaky hooves.
The doctor nodded. "Excellent. By the way, don't ever remove your own IV again. Being a Princess doesn't mean you can do everything by yourself, you know. I'll leave the three of you alone."
"Make that the two of you," said Dash. "I have, um... a thing. Glad to see you're okay, Twi." Rainbow Dash and the doctor left and shut the door behind them.
"Do you need to talk to me in private, or can we talk as we walk?" asked Twilight, stretching her back.
"Walking is fine, provided you are able, Twilight. We may have sensitive matters to discuss, but I do not think anypony overhearing us would be able to pick up on the subjects absent of context," said Luna.
The princesses made their way out of the hospital and began walking to the castle, initially making small talk.
"Now that pleasantries are concluded," said Luna, "there are unusual matters to discuss which can wait no longer. Princess Celestia is in Manehattan at the moment, personally investigating reports of a predator targeting foals."
Twilight paused, winced, and placed a hoof over her face. Starlight!
"Is everything alright?" asked Luna.
"Y-yes, sorry. Mild headache for a moment there. That sounds terrible, though. I hope they catch whoever's responsible," she lied.
"Indeed. It is not known whether a threat actually exists, but the reports are troubling. Several foals in the area have exhibited a transient loss of short-term memory, and there have been reports of a few suspicious strangers who may, in fact, be the same pony in disguise," said Luna. "The Manehattan Museum of Equulogical History appears to be the location of interest, though this seems odd, as it is not a place where foals frequent—except on field trips, in which case they are closely monitored."
"Well, hopefully it's just a false alarm," said Twilight, turning her head to smell a freshly-baked pie as they passed through the market. "I take it that's not why you came to talk to me, though."
"Neigh," said Luna. "The primary purpose of my meeting is that my sister's bedchambers have been ransacked in her absence."
Twilight stopped dead in her tracks. "You're kidding. Are you kidding? Her room should be guarded even when she's not there, shouldn't it?"
"It is. An intruder managed to enter a magically-warded, guarded room without leaving a trace. By all rights, it should be impossible," said Luna, and the two resumed walking. "I have not yet informed my sister, as it would be a distraction from her trip."
"Are there any more details?"
Princess Luna nodded. "It happened in the middle of the night, last evening, around the time you and I met in the dream realm. After hearing some noises in the room, the two door guards opened the door and entered. As yet, they are unable to describe what they witnessed," said Luna. "They are being treated for minor mental trauma. I arrived not long afterwards and found them staring transfixed at the ravaged but unoccupied room."
"There weren't sparkly hoofprints by any chance, were there...?" asked Twilight, then silently cursed herself for impulsively revealing the datum.
Luna bore a curious look on her muzzle. "Why, yes, there were. Are you familiar with the beast responsible?"
Twilight Sparkle sighed. "Well... maybe. I didn't want to tell anypony until I knew more, but I think the same creature toppled most of the books in my castle library," she said. "It seemed to be searching for something, and it stole two books: the one we published recently that included your journal, and a foal's story of no notable importance. Neither one is rare, so I'm guessing it didn't find what it was actually looking for, or maybe it isn't intelligent and the missing books were taken at random."
"Most concerning. May I see your library?" said Luna, as they approached the castle.
"Of course."
When Twilight opened the castle door, Spike was standing on the other side. "Oh! Um, hi ladies. I'll just head upstairs."
"We are headed that way as well, I believe?" said Luna.
"Spike, Princess Luna wanted to see the library. Would you come with us?"
"Sure thing, Twilight. Heh, I'll lead the way," he said, with a wink.
Reaching the library, Twilight opened the door and motioned inward with a sweeping leg. "Here we are."
The three friends stepped inside and Princess Luna began walking around, casually eyeing the books. "One would not know this place was victim to an intruder," she said. "How much time has passed since the event?"
"It happened the night before last. I've told you all the details already. Spike and my other friends helped clean up before I..." said Twilight, and then she paused.
Do I want Luna to know I was in Canterlot?
"Before you...?" said Luna.
"Um, before I ended up in the hospital. I'd rather not think about it at the moment," said Twilight.
Luna turned to focus her attention on the little dragon. "Spike, is there anything you observed other than the hoofprints? In what manner were the books disturbed?"
"Uh, Twilight?" said Spike, sweating.
"You can tell her all the details," said Twilight, and then she waggled her brow outside of Luna's range of vision, adding, "just omit any... unnecessary details, like anything that happened outside of the library ."
"No, please. Provide as much detail as you can," said Luna. "I will not be bored."
"Right, I understand. Ahem. Well, I don't know what Twilight told you, but it's pretty cut and dried. The books were everywhere, but there was no damage to the bookcases or walls or anything. Two books ended up missing," said Spike. "One was an awesome storybook, and the other was one of the copies of Twilight's journal, which included the old journal notes from you and your sister."
"Spike was the one who found the sparkly hoofprints. Then I went to get Zecora, right Spike?"
"No, I think... oh , right, right," said Spike, and then his eyes widened. "Um, so Twilight went to get her. Zecora took a look around and said there was residual magic where the hoofprints used to be. She took one of the books with her to perform some tests on it. Other than proving the creature was inherently magical, she wasn't able to figure out anything new."
"And what size were these hoofprints?" asked Luna.
"Huge. Like, Rockhoof-sized," said Spike, gesturing with his arms.
Luna nodded solemnly. "It would seem to be the same creature, though it has apparently become more destructive," she said. "My apologies, Twilight, but my stay must be short—I need to return to Canterlot before my shift begins. It is regrettable I had to wait several hours for you to awaken, but I thought it best not to invade your dreams given your need to recuperate. Nonetheless, I am most heartened I came to visit this afternoon. These facts have been quite illuminating."
"Speaking of illuminating," said Spike. Twilight turned her head and noticed her butt was glowing.
"Now? " said Twilight, and she sighed. "Well, let's head downstairs and see where I'm supposed to go."
They walked downstairs and Twilight opened the door to the throne room. Twilight's cutie mark was hovering directly over Applejack's throne. In an instant she teleported across the room.
"The Cutie Map," said Luna, as she and Spike entered the room. "It has been so long since..." she said, and her voice trailed off.
"Twilight, why are you sitting in Applejack's throne?" asked Spike, jogging over to meet her. "And, um, your chest..." Twilight shot Spike a warning glare, and he pinched his lips tightly together.
Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat noisily. "Oh, you know, just for a change of pace, heh."
"Your chest appears to be glowing," said Luna as she approached Twilight. "And I do not see your cutie mark on the Map."
"Oh, well, I guess the Map's just taking its time, heh. Nothing too weird about that." Twilight looked down at her chest. The light shining out through her flesh looked vaguely like her body was a dim lantern.
"Is it not odd that your chest is glowing from within? The Cutie Map should only signal you with your cutie mark," said Luna. She reached out and pointed at the gauze bandage covering the center of Twilight's chest. "We must return you to the hospital at once! Perhaps this 'platypus' injury is magical in nature."
Wincing, Twilight stepped down off the throne. "Oh! Well, that's strange," she said. "I guess I was sitting on... my own cutie mark? Wow, what a funny coincidence." The glowing image of her cutie mark spun in the air almost directly over Applejack's seat.
Spike opened his mouth to speak, then quickly shut it. He mopped a bead of sweat from his brow.
"This is most unusual, Twilight. Your mark is not hovering over Equestria or the outlying lands at all," said Princess Luna. "Why would the Map do this?"
"It... oh! I think it means I need to speak with Applejack," she said. "I mean, obviously, because it's hovering over her throne and all."
"Perhaps. But why would it not simply place your cutie mark alongside hers, here in Ponyville?" asked Luna.
"Heh, well, you know the Tree of Harmony! It can be as unpredictable as—"
The sound of the castle doorbell rang out, and the tension left Twilight's face. Thank goodness.
"I'll get it," said Spike.
"Hay! Let's all go together," said Twilight, quickly ushering Luna and Spike out of the throne room.
The trio returned to the castle entrance, where Spike opened the door. Standing outside was Moondancer, wearing her sweater and saddlebags.
"Twilight!" said Moondancer, and ran forward for an embrace. Twilight Sparkle leaned back away from the hug and blushed.
The look on Moondancer's face went from confusion, to embarrassment, then sadness. "Oh... oh ," she said.
Twilight blinked a few times. "No! It's not like that..."
"I can't blame you," said Moondancer, gritting her teeth as her eyes began to water.
"I just... I didn't want Luna to see."
"Of course you don't want her to see," said Moondancer, eyes closed with her neck hung low.
Twilight Sparkle reached forward and grasped Moondancer by the shoulders. "Moondancer, think. We don't want Celestia to know about this yet."
"It doesn't matter! Why would you want anyone to—"
Twilight leaned forward and firmly kissed Moondancer on the lips, pulling her close in her forelegs.
"Oh, wow," said Spike. "This is... wow. Wow."
"Perhaps now would be an appropriate time to make my departure," said Princess Luna. "I hope the two of you fare well..."
Moondancer broke the kiss and wiped her eyes. "I... I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions, Twi. Does she know?" she asked Twilight, motioning with her head toward Luna.
Twilight turned around to face Luna. "Okay, um... here's the deal," she said. "Princess Celestia doesn't know that Moondancer and I are seeing each other. I mean, figuratively, like this. We'd like to keep it a secret for now."
"We might as well lay our hoof on the table," said Moondancer. "Princess Luna, your sister is very worried about Twilight. She thinks she's being controlled by some evil force or something, so she ordered me to spy on her," she said. "I woke up one morning in the throne room, apparently having blacked out and lost my memories. She told me that Twilight was responsible for my memory loss, but Twilight wasn't anywhere around."
"We'd rather Celestia believe Moondancer is still spying on me than to know we're... um, in a relationship , I guess? Wow, it feels weird saying that," said Twilight, looking over at Moondancer. "But good! Weird, but good. A good weird."
"Ah. You suspect my sister is the one who knocked you unconscious," said Luna. "This is very troubling. She spoke nothing to me of this matter, which suggests she is hiding something from all of us."
"Can you keep this a secret for now, Luna?" asked Moondancer. "All of Twilight's close friends know about it, so we'll be able to intervene if there really is something wrong with Twilight. But we don't want to take a chance talking to Celestia if she might end up blanking our memories again."
Princess Luna nodded. "I will refrain from discussing this with her, but I shall probe in subtle ways to see if I can learn what she is hiding. Hopefully it is not my sister herself who is under the influence of disharmony."
"Okay. Just... please contact us before you decide to speak with her about any of this," asked Twilight. "Could you do that for me?"
"Certainly, Twilight. You have my word," said Luna. "Do have Spike send news my way if you learn anything more," she said. "I apologize again for my short stay, but I must return to Canterlot now." Luna's horn glowed, and then she disappeared in a cloak of shimmering shadow.
"I'm guessing we both have a lot of information to share," said Moondancer. "What happened to your chest?"
"Long story, which I'll tell you over a late dinner. Hope you're hungry," said Twilight. "The short version is I had a vision, and in the vision a past version of Discord attacked me. So he knows we're looking into that place whose name I can't remember again, but I don't think he'll tell Celestia." Twilight walked Moondancer and Spike into the castle and back into the throne room.
Moondancer looked at her hoof, which she had written on in permanent marker. "It's Quifons. Oh, look. Your cutie mark is... wait, it's hovering off the table, isn't it?" she said. "Oh no. I hope that doesn't mean what I think it means."
"It means you're going to Quifons, doesn't it?" asked Spike. "Oh, I read her journal, Moondancer—we all did."
"Huh. Well I guess it's not a secret what happened between us," said Moondancer.
Twilight smiled. "It's okay. I was kind of freaking out about it at first, but I'm not ashamed of you Moonie. I want you to know that."
Moondancer smiled back with shining eyes. "Thanks, Twi. So, about the Map..."
"Spike's right, of course. It looks like the Map wants me to go to Quifons, which is the last place I should be," she said. "I'm tempted to go but I don't know how to get there, and I'm kind of scared that I wouldn't want to come back..."
"Then don't go," said Spike. "Seriously, forget the Map."
"I agree with Spike," said Moondancer. "But I have an additional reason."
"What's that?" asked Twilight.
"Remember your vision? Look closely at the terrain of the Map."
Twilight walked over to the Map and looked at it, eyes narrowed. "Oh! You're right!"
"What is it?" asked Spike.
Twilight laughed. "Applejack's throne is past the Dragonlands. It's not the Quifons side of the Map! That means the Cutie Map is sending me to... Tartarus?" she said, and gulped a mouthful of air. "Well, I'm not sure that's any better, but I'm still relieved. Funny, I never imagined that going to Tartarus would be a relief."
Moondancer sat down in Twilight's throne and set her saddlebags on the Map. "Maybe it would make more sense for me to tell my story first," she said. "I've got a whopper of a datum to share."
The edge of Twilight's jaw twitched. "Wow, I can't wait," she said, then turned to Spike. "Spike, I need you to bring me my journal, the one everypony was reading from. Once I'm up-to-date with Moondancer, I need to write down everything I've seen over the past twenty-four hours. Before you go to sleep, I'd like you to make two copies of the entire journal so that the others can keep current."
"You're the boss," said Spike, and he ran out the door.
"So what's the news?" asked Twilight, sitting awkwardly on the floor near the base of her own throne. She looked up to Moondancer with the intensity of a puppy waiting to be fed.
"It's the stars, Twi. They've moved ."
"The stars moved? " said Twilight Sparkle, her jaw agape.
"Yes. And, just to be clear, I am not referring to the rotation of the Celestial Sphere," said Moondancer.
"You're not referring to the rotation of the Celestial Sphere."
Moondancer paused, with narrowed eyes. "Twilight, this conversation will go much faster if you don't repeat everything I say."
"Oh. Sorry, Moonie."
"It's fine," said Moondancer, "I was in a state of shock initially, myself. Here." Moondancer pulled out several large maps from her saddlebags and splayed them across the Cutie Map. The holograms obscured most of the details.
"I'll just turn that off for a moment," said Spike, fiddling with Twilight's throne. "You do have a way to turn it off, don't you?"
"It does what it wants," said Twilight, shrugging.
"Floor, then," said Moondancer, levitating the maps and placing them on the floor. She sat down and gestured for Twilight to follow.
"I have some work to do and I probably won't follow half of what you're saying," said Spike. "I'll be transcribing in the library."
Twilight nodded, then turned her attention to the maps. There were five of them, two which she recognized immediately.
"Those are the classic 881 A.S. maps," said Twilight, pointing to them. "The two where seasonal aberration was first discovered due to the apparent motion of Neo 14. This is why we only make exact measurements during the Winter Solstice."
"Nope. They're accurate," said Moondancer. "The problem isn't that the maps are wrong, it's the sky."
Twilight furrowed her brow. "But it's the atmosphere that causes the distortion, isn't it?"
"I know that's what we're taught, but look here," said Moondancer, pointing at two other maps. "These two were done in 847, both in Summer and Winter. They're identical, and I've checked: they're every bit as accurate as a modern map. The measurements in Winter of 847 were made immediately following the invention of the filar micrometer."
"So they got lucky and the maps are coincidentally accurate..."
Moondancer shook her head. "No. I checked every stellar map made between 847 and 881. There were seven made, not counting these four. Each one is identical, with one exception in 873 where the map was kind of sloppy in general, but Neo 14 is still in the same location," said Moondancer. "Then the map made in Summer of 881 comes along, and bam: Neo 14 is off by a couple of micrometers."
Twilight paused in thought. "There isn't a seasonal aberration? But maps made after 881 confirm that measurements made in Summer are less accurate."
"Twi, the evidence I've uncovered suggests the seasonal aberration didn't exist prior to 881. And it isn't that Summer measurements are 'less accurate'. It's only Neo 14 that changes, and the change is predictable! I just measured it yesterday, here," said Moondancer, pointing to a freshly made map of a small portion of the sky.
"It doesn't seem to be off by as much... wait, that's because it's Spring," said Twilight. "Dear Celestia."
"Exactly. Neo 14 is located between the two extrema right now. This star moves, Twi. It moves every six months, and then it moves back," said Moondancer. "It's not the only one, either. I'm almost certain Traicere 27 moves too, only by about half as much. But again, not prior to 881."
"This doesn't make sense," said Twilight. "Even if it made sense for stars to move at all, why would stars start moving? These are simple scientific measurements of a fixed sphere."
Moondancer shrugged. "Oxcam's Razor. It isn't a perfectly-fixed sphere."
Twilight Sparkle wrinkled up her muzzle in distaste. "Prior to 881, all measurements are consistent with stars being tiny motes on a fixed sphere, and the last time the technology improved was in 847," she said. "If you're right, what you're suggesting is one of the greatest discoveries in the history of astronomy... but even if stars aren't motes on the Celestial Sphere, there's no reason why our measurements would suddenly change in 881. I wouldn't even know where to begin theorizing."
"Same here, so I threw away my assumptions and did a little timely research," said Moondancer, and she pulled out a book from her saddlebags. "This is a historical record of events from 881." She turned to a specific page and levitated the book to Twilight.
"Hmm? The Great Earthquake of 881," said Twilight, reading from the book. "The largest and strangest temblor in recorded history, with energy surpassing the Yottajoule range. No apparent epicenter, just a sustained rumbling across the entire world that lasted all night. We still don't know what caused it, but the prevailing theory—"
"—is a mana cataclysm, yes, I know. So this got me thinking: here's another unexplained scientific mystery, right? I wanted to understand what happened leading up to the tremor, so I looked at everything that happened the same day. See anything unusual?"
Twilight looked through the list of news items. "Mostly mundane stuff... Huh, this is weird: it was the release date for a book called Motus Discus by Early Dawn? 'A romance of astronomical proportions.' Wow, it sold over ten thousand advance copies... that's a lot for the ninth century. I'm surprised I never heard of it, but the author's name sounds very familiar."
"Based on the news item, it's a fictional romance novel about astronomy: literal star-crossed lovers. There aren't any copies of it in the Royal Library—nor on the manifest of the Manehattan Historical Library, for that matter—but I did manage to track down who Early Dawn was," said Moondancer. "I'd ask you to sit down if we weren't both on the floor already. He was the Royal Astronomer from 840 through 878, and the inventor of the filar micrometer."
A moment passed as Twilight digested the information. "That's bizarre. Even if it's only a romance novel, a popular work of fiction by the Royal Astronomer should be preserved for posterity. Why aren't there any copies in the Library?"
"I looked back at old manifests of the Canterlot Royal Library. They've never had it in stock."
Twilight made an abrupt laugh. "Surely they'd have ordered at least one!"
"Maybe they did, but if so, they never added it to the catalog."
"Weird," said Twilight. "But all I'm seeing here are more odd coincidences and questions. How does any of this tie together with the apparent motion of Neo and Traicere?"
"That I don't know, but something happened in 881, Twilight. Something happened to cosmic measurement ."
Twilight stood up and walked back a step. "You're not suggesting what that sounds like!" she said, pointing at the maps with a hoof. "Science relies on the base assumptions that reality exists, is measurable, and that measurements are consistent from place to place and time to time. We can't throw science out the window!"
Moonancer stood up and walked over, grasping Twilight by one shoulder with a forehoof. "Of course I'm not suggesting we throw science out the window. But something changed, Twi. Either something about the Celestial Sphere changed, or something in how we conduct science... or else history isn't correct."
"Then it must be history," said Twilight, placing her hoof on Moondancer's. "I don't see how, but... I don't know what we can trust anymore." Her eyes shimmered, tears on the edge of forming.
"Well, I know at least one source I can always trust," said Moondancer, raising a bushy brow.
"What's—" said Twilight, shortly before being both answered and silenced by a kiss. A simple kiss turned into something deep and long. At least a minute passed before somepony behind them made a giggling sound.
Both mares quickly broke the kiss, blushed, and turned to see Pinkie and Rainbow Dash standing at the entrance to the room, with Spike behind them. Pinkie was grinning like mad, while Dash blushed and struggled in vain to fold her wings. Spike just stared with his jaw wide open.
"You two are SO CUTE together!" bubbled Pinkie Pie.
"Y-yeah. Maybe you can keep that to somewhere private?" asked Dash. "I mean, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, with you both being mares, and, and the kiss..." she added, her voice trailing off.
"I can't remember the name of the realm again," said Twilight.
"Me neither," said Moondancer.
"I can't remember my own name right now," said Spike.
"It's... a sneeze or something?" said Rainbow Dash, finally folding her wings downward. "Achoo?"
"Quifons!" said Pinkie Pie. "How could you forget that?"
"Being aroused appears to make you forget the name of the realm," said Moondancer.
"It's more than that... I forgot it the last time I took the potion," said Twilight.
"We need to do more research then," concluded Moondancer. "Maybe one of your friends could try thinking different things and feeling different emotions, and make a list of things that do and don't make you forget the name."
Twilight grabbed a piece of paper, then looked at Spike. "Spike, this upcoming conversation is not for little dragons. Didn't you have something to do for me? Remember?"
"Now I have two things I have to do," he mumbled.
"Then multitask!" said Twilight, rolling her eyes in exasperation.
"Twilight, I really don't think you want me combining... you know, I'm just going to exit the room now," said Spike, and then he left.
"Okay. I need the two of you to test as many emotions that you can think of," said Twilight. "Disdain, shame, ennui..."
"On what?" said Rainbow Dash.
Twilight sighed. "Here," she said, wrote down something on the piece of paper, and hoofed it to Pinkie Pie.
"Ooh! Doctor Yoke's Guide to Emotional States. That's in the library upstairs?" said Pinkie.
"Exactly. And not just emotions, but emotional activities too," stressed Twilight. "And write down the name of the place so you can remember it between attempts."
"Uh, why exactly did you have to kick Spike out to tell us this?" asked Dash.
"As many emotional activities as you can think of," said Moondancer. "Get it?"
Rainbow Dash frowned. "Sorry, eggheads."
Pinkie giggled and whispered something in Rainbow Dash's ear, and her wings launched outward, whapping Pinkie in the face. "What? W-what? I, I, I..." she stammered.
Pinkie picked Rainbow Dash up and placed her onto her back. "Don't worry Dashie, I got everything covered."
"Help me!" whimpered Rainbow Dash, bright red peeking through her cyan cheeks.
Twilight Sparkle reached out to help, but Moondancer blocked her with a hoof. "Twi, they'll be okay."
Twilight watched as Pinkie trotted out the doorway. "Rainbow was asking for our help..."
"From what I know of Pinkie, she'd never do something to somepony against her will," said Moondancer, "and did you see Dash's wings? They'll be fine together, really."
"What was wrong with her wings?" asked Twilight.
Moondancer blinked a few times. "Wow. And you're an alicorn now. Remind me to have this conversation with you later... though I guess you'll figure it out if we keep kissing," she said. "Ahem. Anyway, this is unimportant. Or less important, rather. We need to investigate the historical context of the stellar changes."
Twilight nodded a few times, then noticed her own wings had been extended the entire time she'd been talking. She quickly folded them back in place. "Right, right. But... I need to go to Tartarus first. The Map wouldn't be calling me if it weren't urgent. Moonie, can you tackle the research?"
"I can try, but I'm worried I've already spent too much time in the Royal Canterlot Library if we're trying not to arouse suspicion. I'll see what I can find here first," said Moondancer. "Then maybe I'll head for the Crystal Empire. There might be a clue in ancient history as well."
Twilight walked around the table until she stood in front of Applejack's chair. "I'd rather you not leave until Starlight Glimmer returns. You're the only mage I can trust to bounce ideas off of, not counting Zecora... and don't get me wrong, she's really wise, she's just—"
"Twilight, hold up," said Moondancer, standing on the other side of the table by Fluttershy's chair. "Don't you think it's strange that the Map doesn't have the leaves to it anymore, but it still behaves like it does?"
The young alicorn shook her head. "Everything the Map does is strange. I don't understand how it used to exist with the Sisters, and then it disappeared and somehow came back."
"Maybe they did something that made it angry. Er, not that maps get angry, but it seems to have a personality..." Moondancer stopped and narrowed her eyes. She leaned in toward the edge of the table facing Fluttershy's chair. "Twi, there's a discoloration here. Have you seen this?"
Twilight looked down at her side of the map. "There's a small spot on this side too. You don't think?"
Moondancer touched it with her magic. "Whatever it is, it resonates more than the rest of the table. I can't seem to match the frequency, though."
"I'm going to try something dangerous," said Twilight.
"I'd object, but I doubt that would dissuade you."
Twilight's eyes began to glow green, and black flames licked at the edges. "Dark magic," she said. "It has a wider band of resonance..." The darkness bubbled at the edge of the Cutie Map, and a ringing sound emanated from it. "It's working, but... it's missing something."
"Touch both sides?" asked Moondancer, looking around the rim. "I don't see the mark anywhere else."
"It's taking all my concentration to activate this one side—wait. Use magic on your side, then telekinetically link with my horn," said Twilight.
"Wh—are you sure? " asked Moondancer, blushing.
"Yes! I can't hold this much longer, just do it," she ordered.
With a stoic look on her muzzle, Moondancer grasped the edge of the table with her magic, then made contact with the dark aura around Twilight's horn. Darkness filled her vision, and she gasped.
Two things shot open at the same time: Twilight's wings, and the sides of the table.
Both mares were punched in the chest by the table leaves which seemed to emerge somehow from the empty space above the table, and they fell backwards into the thrones. A loud squeaking sound filled the castle as Applejack's and Fluttershy's thrones somehow slid backwards without breaking contact with the crystal flooring.
Both ponies dropped their magic. A blurry image of Quifons sparkled mesmerizingly in front of Moondancer, and she stared at it, transfixed where she had slumped over into Fluttershy's throne.
"Moondancer, look away," said Twilight, staring herself despite the imperative.
"I can't! It's... it's so beautiful," whispered Moondancer. Then Moondancer yelped as darkness surrounded her. "Twilight! Did you just blind me?"
"No, I just cast a sphere of darkness around that half of the table. Come over here," said Twilight, and her friend stumbled out of the dark.
"Wow. I didn't believe you when you said it was that gorgeous. I wanted to, but it didn't make any sense..." mumbled Moondancer, looking up into Twilight's eyes.
"Moonie, it's okay. It's indescribable. Although, oddly enough, I'm getting used to seeing it. I wasn't as strongly affected by it this time."
"Indescribable is an understatement. Look, Twi, we can't let you destroy... whatever that is."
"I know."
"Although... your eyes are almost as beautiful," said Moondancer, wearing a gentle smile.
The eyes in question began to water from emotion. "I, heh. Well, um, we need some way to cover the area when the spell ends, and I don't know if a normal cloth will obscure the hologram," said Twilight.
"Do you have anything anti-magic that could block it?"
"Oh! I know something that will work perfectly... except... horsefeathers ."
"What is it?"
"Keep the Quifons wing of the map covered in the anti-magic cloth. Got it," Spike said to Twilight.
"And I certainly hope at some point you'll tell Trixie—I mean, me —just exactly what all of this means?" asked Trixie, wearing a frown. "I may be the most generous mage in all of Equestria, but that prop is an important part of my act."
Twilight Sparkle sighed. "I promise I'll tell you in due time, Trixie. And thank you for your generous contribution. Starlight is currently on assignment, and she'll probably want to clue you in once she returns."
"Aha! So that's what this is about," said Trixie, narrowing her eyes. "You sent your 'student' gallivanting across Equestria and you made her leave without even saying goodbye to me."
Twilight shook her head. "It's... look, I may be in the middle of something big."
"Big, exciting, and grand, naturally. Hmph!"
"No. Big trouble . Legally, morally, physically, you name it. I'm about to go to Tartarus, actually," said Twilight.
"Please, Twilight. I may have asked you to go there before, but that was a figure of speech."
A frown crossed Twilight's face. "You never told me to go to Tartarus, Trixie."
"Oh!" said Trixie, grinning sheepishly. "I must have thought it very loudly in my head. My mistake."
Twilight covered her face with a hoof and sighed. "What I'm saying is that I may be in trouble, and I've been trying not to get ponies involved, because they might get in trouble too. Do you understand?"
"Better than you know," said Trixie, with a grimace. "The Great and Powerful Trixie has earned her fair share of trouble. You have... my..." she added, then swallowed and slowly formed the word with her lips as though in great pain, "sympathies . But friends help each other, and if Starlight is helping you, then so am I." A sudden look of surprise crossed her face.
"Hay, I can't believe you said it either," said Spike.
Twilight nodded. "Thank you, Trixie. I guess if you can't wait, you can go ask Moondancer to cue you in. She's in the library upstairs. Just tell her I said you were involved now. There is another option, however."
"Which is?"
"Pretend none of this happened and you can claim plausible deniability if anything goes wrong. I don't want anypony else to suffer if something bad happens to me."
Trixie pursed her lips in thought. "If Starlight's in this, so am I. However, I'd rather hear it from her first, once she gets back. I'll play dumb for now, Twilight."
Twilight half-smiled. "I think that's probably best. I'm sorry if I end up getting you mixed up in this, Trixie."
"Well, you should be," said Trixie. "But, um... be careful in Tartarus, Twilight." Trixie turned and walked out of the castle.
Flames licked at the sides of the rock bridge Twilight Sparkle was crossing, making her sweat profusely. Tirek lay just a few paces ahead, but said nothing until Twilight was standing right next to him.
"What do you want?" he sneered.
"I don't know yet," said Twilight. "The Cutie Map sent me here."
"Cutie Map? Ah, you must mean the Map of Harmony." Tirek made a contemptuous face. "I never liked her."
"Who?"
"It matters not. I have no business with you, no matter what Harmony may think."
"Wait, do you mean Harmony? Is Harmony a person?"
Tirek sighed. "She is—or was—one of the Twelve."
"Who are the Twelve?"
"You know some of them already, so go bother them instead. The Sisters or that traitorous foal Discord could answer such questions. Or Star Swirl, though the last I heard he was trapped in Limbo."
Twilight thought better than to inform Tirek of Star Swirl's escape. "Look, the Map would not have sent me here if there wasn't something I could do to help," said Twilight.
"Releasing me is the only way you can help me, and I know you shall not do such a thing. But allow me to enlighten you on one subject. Harmony is not predictable. Perhaps she wants you to jump into the flames, Princess ," said Tirek, spitting out the moniker like a piece of gristle. "I would enjoy seeing that." He lunged forward and snarled, the chains preventing him from moving more than a few inches.
"I'll bet," said Twilight, sweating for two reasons. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do here."
Tirek sighed. "What do you want, pony? I only want release or solitude."
"I want to know about..." Twilight began, then looked at the underside of her hoof to read the word. "Quifons."
A smirk quickly turned to uproarious laughter. "Of course you do. You and every adult on Theia. I shall tell you nothing."
Twilight frowned. "Then can you tell me why the sky changed in 881? Or what caused the mana cataclysm that same year?"
"I don't know when 881 is, or even which woof region of time you refer to," said Tirek. "Not that it matters."
Twilight blinked several times. "What the hay is a woof region ?"
Tirek closed his eyes. "The world is far more complex than you are capable of understanding, stupid pony. I shall answer you no more."
After several failed attempts to move Tirek to speak, Twilight noticed her cutie mark blinking.
Arriving at the Castle of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle saw Starlight standing there waiting for her.
"Thank goodness you're back," said Starlight Glimmer. "We have a lot to discuss." The two friends walked into the castle and headed up to the library.
"I assume so. Is Spike here?"
Spike opened the door to the library. "Speak of the dragon, and his tail appears," said Spike. "Applejack taught me that saying, heh."
"Spike, catch me up on everypony's whereabouts." The group entered the library and sat down at a table.
"Okay, let's see. Fluttershy is still on mission. Pinkie and Dash are still working on whatever you told them to do—they've been holed up in Rainbow's Cloudominium since you left. AJ came back but she's at Sweet Apple Acres because they need help with chores since her absence, but Maud's in her cave waiting for you to contact her. Rarity's back and working in her Boutique, and Moondancer left for the Crystal Empire about an hour ago," he said. "I think that's everypony. Oh, wait. Zecora said she's turned up empty on clues for the creature that invaded the library."
"I spoke with Trixie," said Starlight. "She wants to be left in the dark until we need her, which is my preference as well. But I have a ton of information to catch you up on."
"Have you read my journal yet?"
Starlight nodded. "I'm current. Why don't you go first?"
Twilight briefly described her encounter with Tirek. "I have no idea what a woof region of time might be."
"Hmm. Well, in weaving, there are two directions of thread. The warp is the matrix of straight threads, and the weft or woof is the long thread that goes back and forth between them," said Starlight. "But time isn't anything like a tapestry. It's a single, curved dimension."
"Spacetime is a tapestry, but you don't need to talk about 'woof regions' to make sense of it," said Twilight. "Maybe it's an archaic way of describing spacetime curvature, assuming the Twelve knew about it long before ponies discovered it."
"It's useless to speculate with this little data," said Starlight. "Anyway, it's my turn."
"I'm all ears. Figuratively," said Twilight.
Spike rolled his eyes.
"I have the device, which I've managed to hold off on testing until we could do it together. It took a lot of magical shenanigans to get it, though. That museum is locked down like a vault, especially after what happened there," said Starlight.
"What happened?" asked Spike.
"Some kind of magical creature attacked the place at night. It was spotted outside by some ponies, but it mesmerized them. Based on their symptoms, they think it's the one who targeted the foals the previous night, as well," said Starlight.
"That's fortunate," said Twilight, with a sigh of relief. "I thought they'd trace that back to you when Luna told me about it."
"It wasn't me, Twilight. Rarity's disguises led ponies to think we were suspicious, but I never had the opportunity to approach any foals. Besides, I realized we could probably get parental consent to run experiments on foals here in Ponyville if we're clever about how we do it," said Starlight. "Whatever the creature is, it has to be what caused the foals' amnesia. But here's the really weird thing. I used a spell to peek at the markings inside the museum after they closed it off to the public—they put down tape marking where the hoofprints were—and it was right around the locations I'd been at earlier that same day."
"That's strange... What day did this happen?" asked Twilight.
"I know where you're going with this, and yes. It was the same night that the creature invaded Celestia's quarters, in the middle of the night."
"Manehattan is too far away from Canterlot for a creature to be in both places at roughly the same time," said Twilight, shaking her head. "We need to rethink this. Even Rainbow Dash... no, she could probably make the distance, but she'd be totally exhausted and it would take her too long. I'm not even sure Celestia could pull it off with a series of long-range teleports."
"Either we're dealing with an invasion of similar creatures, or this one beast can move from place to place as fast as a sound wave," said Starlight. "Good grief. I'm not sure which possibility is worse."
Twilight put on a brave face. "We'll need to hurry. Let's go see Maud, then we can try the manamomonometer."
Twilight Sparkle stood in a small room with a domed ceiling, surrounded by a ring-shaped table. The appearance of the room transfixed her for a moment: although everything looked normal, the walls and table and floor and dome were all infused with the sparkly sheen of Quifons—a word she'd forgotten moments ago, but could now remember with full clarity.
I'm here , she instinctively knew. I'm in Quifons.
There were twelve seats with eleven occupants. In front of each seat set a nameplate. Starting with the chair she was facing, and moving in clockwise order, Twilight quietly read each of them to herself.
Ghost Queen of Hope
This chair was empty.
Star King of Time
In this chair sat a unicorn colt with a bushy beard. He wore an oversized hat with bells on it which distinctly reminded Twilight of Star Swirl the Bearded.
Celie Queen of Light
This pink alicorn filly was clearly Princess Celestia, based on Twilight's earlier flashbacks.
Somber King of Control
A gray crystal colt with red eyes and flowing black mane and tail sat in this chair. He looked irritated to be here, and apart from being crystal rather than a unicorn, bore a close resemblance to King Sombra.
Theia Queen of Place
In this chair sat a brown earth pony filly with a poofy green mane and tail.
Chaos King of noYESmaybeisNot!!!11!1one1
Here sat a very young male hippogriff with feathers of every possible hue and tone.
Harmony Queen of Truth
A bluish-white earth pony filly sat in this chair. Her eyes glowed, slowly cycling through every color of the rainbow.
Nightmare King of Desire
In this chair sat a black unicorn colt with a purple mane and tail.
Lulu Queen of Beauty
Here sat Princess Luna. Unlike the others present, her body itself seemed to flow with Quifons. It was breathtaking to behold, even though her mane and tail were otherwise short and bland.
Shadow King of Void
A pegasus colt with coat, mane, and feathers of shifting chromatic grays occupied this seat.
Amore Queen of Love
A very young Princess Cadance sat here, as a pegasus.
Twilight did a double-take. Princess Cadance is one of the Twelve?
Scorprek King of Spirit
Here sat an unusually large, red-hued crystal pony colt.
The assembled herd spoke in Old Ponish, which Twilight was able to translate with middling accuracy.
"We are all here, are we not?" said Lulu.
Amore cleared her throat noisily. "Eleven of the Twelve, which is (translation uncertain)," she said, in Cadance's unmistakable voice.
"Why leave a place for Ghost?" said Nightmare. "It's not like she'll come."
"I sense a presence," said Harmony. "She may be here as we speak."
"I sense it as well," said Chaos. "But it may be something I (translation uncertain)." Chaos's voice sounded vaguely similar to Discord's, Twilight noted.
"What if it isn't her?" said Amore.
Shadow pursed his lips. "Then perhaps we need a larger number than Twelve."
"Impossible," said Lulu. "You cannot just make up new numbers."
"Nothing's impossible," said Nightmare.
"Twelve-two?" suggested Theia.
"Three'n'ten," countered Harmony. "But it doesn't matter. Nopony knows when Ghost will first appear."
Celie sighed. "We should begin before Chaos gets bored."
"You are too late," said Chaos, performing a headstand in his chair.
"The matter at hoof is the error we have made trying to prevent boredom," said Star, drawing everypony's eyes. "Chaos continues to grow in bad ways."
"Sorry about that," said Chaos, grinning in a way that didn't match his apology.
"My food is fun, but necessitates work," said Theia. "Nightmare and Shadow created sleep, which is fun but inhibits work. Things are becoming more complicated things."
"And our Dolt creations are too stupid to be useful," said Shadow. "We need something that isn't stupid like a Dolt."
"We need citizens to do work," said Somber. "We need to force some of them to do the work for the others."
"Who would want to be forced?" said Harmony.
"Who cares what a citizen wants?" said Somber.
"We can't force anyspirit to do anything," said Scorprek. "But maybe we can trick them to force one another."
"Temporarily," said Star. "We can make them not-citizens. Grow some of them up large, into smarter Dolts, and make them work for the others."
"Yes. The grown-ups can take turns being a Dolt," said Scorprek.
Harmony furrowed her brow. "And why would they want to do this?"
"It's different. Maybe something about being a Dolt could be fun," said Scorprek.
Lulu huffed. "Work is not fun, and being a Dolt is not fun."
"Then make something the opposite of fun," said Nightmare.
"Oh, I would love to try that! I shall call it 'Pain'," said Chaos.
"The opposite of fun is boredom," said Shadow.
"No," said Celie. "Boredom is no fun, not the opposite of fun. Work is mostly boredom, with a (translation uncertain) of fun."
"How will the opposite of fun help anyspirit do anything?" asked Theia.
"They become a Dolt, or else they feel this Pain. Work may be no fun, but it will be more fun than that which is its opposite," said Shadow.
Lulu shook her head. "It could be made natural, but anything like Pain is (translation uncertain) with Quifons."
Celie took a deep breath. "Then we need something that is Not Quifons."
"Impossible," said several of the Twelve in unison.
"(Translation uncertain)," said Amore.
"How?" asked Nightmare.
"I will make something that is Not Quifons. It will be a Place apart," said Theia.
"Out of what?" asked Somber.
Theia smiled. "Out of Me."
"I do not like the idea of this Pain. What happens when Pain is out of control? When it (translation uncertain) a spirit?" asked Star.
"A return to the (translation uncertain) of Quifons, (translation uncertain). That's how a Dolt shall become a foal again," said Nightmare.
"This plan is (translation uncertain). It'll never work," said Amore.
"I like it," said Chaos. "It's weird."
"It would solve the problem of increasing complexity, at the cost of increasing complexity," Celie pointed out. "It's a (translation uncertain)."
"But we should try it," said Somber.
"What if we cannot go back?" asked Amore.
"Then we'll figure something out," said Scorprek, dismissively waving a hoof.
"I have nothing further to say. We can only learn by doing. Those in favor?" asked Somber.
"Ghost abstains. If the presence is her, she doesn't have the ability to (translation uncertain) decide," said Harmony.
"Harmony is correct about Ghost. It is related to Time," said Star.
"Warp or woof?" asked Lulu.
"Both," said Star.
"I still don't understand the difference," said Shadow.
Scorprek shrugged. "It is (translation uncertain) for now. Let us vote," he said, standing up. Everypony else stood up as well.
Every King raised his hoof or claws, and every Queen did not: six to five.
"The Decision is made," said Celie, clopping her hooves together once.
Twilight Sparkle woke on her bed, staring up at a draconequus floating above her.
"Ahh! " she shouted, then covered her mouth with her hooves.
"Quiet," hissed Discord, "or you'll wake that scaly rodent of yours."
"His name is Spike, and he's not a... wait, why am I even arguing this," said Twilight, sitting up. Night had already fallen and the candlestick on her table had burned low. "Oh no. Is it midnight already?"
"I'm afraid so. That must have been quite the trip," said Discord. "You had your high-beams on when I arrived. I pondered reading a book by your eyelights, but you woke up almost immediately after the Moon reached its zenith."
"That's crazy. The vision only lasted a few minutes," said Twilight. She tilted the bottle, noting only one serving of the concoction appeared to remain.
"Then you were in Quifons," said Discord. "Time passes differently then."
"You mean there , don't... wait, is Quifons a time rather than a place? "
"A little of column A, a little of column B," said Discord, spinning around under the canopy of Twilight's bed before floating downward into a chair. "Tsk, Tsk, Twilight. Here you promised your friends that your investigation wouldn't harm Quifons, and yet you've already been a tourist!"
Twilight looked left and right with her eyes, thinking. "I have to stop using the potion," she said.
"Brilliant deduction!" teased Discord. "Out of curiosity, may I ask what you witnessed this time?"
"I saw..." Twilight began, then shut her muzzle. "No. I'll tell you, but I want answers first."
Discord rolled his eyes three hundred and sixty degrees around in his head. "Oh, please. I'm trying to help you learn more. Leaving me in the dark isn't exactly a sensible bargaining chip," he said, punctuating it with a sigh. "I have my suspicions, anyway. You're moving backwards through time in Celie's memories, so... the Twelve, perhaps?"
Twilight nodded. "I know who they are now, more or less. How in Equestria is Princess Cadence a member of the Twelve? She's not even twice my age!"
"She's older than she looks," said Discord. "Or she was , at any rate. Amore is much younger today than she was a thousand years ago."
"That makes no sense. No, wait, that's not the right way to think about this... I mean: I don't understand ."
"Good girl, and of course you don't. I haven't explained anything yet," he said, wearing a grumpy expression. "Ugh, this is going to take forever, even with you . Let's get the big lesson out of the way, shall we?"
Discord snapped his talons, and in a flash he and Twilight had appeared in the Throne Room.
"Oh good! You've already opened up the first set of wings," he said. "This will be easier than I thought."
"First set? There are more?"
"Check out the bases of the thrones," said Discord, and Twilight lowered her head. "Not now! On your own time. I need you to help me up here. Have you fiddled with the controls at all?"
"The slider on Quifons, but not the one on Tartarus that appears as you move backwards through time," she said. "I only discovered the sliders yesterday afternoon, and didn't have one of my unicorn friends available to assist me. Can you activate them?"
"Naturally," said Discord, grabbing the Quifons slider with a claw tip and teasing it backwards through time by a few years. "Though I'm prohibited from touching both of them simultaneously, just like you. Harmony always had an annoying sense of humor."
"Harmony. Is that what happened to her? She became the Tree, didn't she?"
"At least you're quick. Now where do you want me to hold the warp?"
"The warp... the warp of time?"
"Yes. I have the warp control, and the woof is right there on Tartarus."
Twilight grabbed the woof slider with her magic. "Alright, I've got it. But how can time have two components?"
"Simple. Time is two-dimensional , Twilight." A sly grin crossed Discord's face. "I certainly hope that little fact is blowing your mind. It's so rare I get to share it."
The broken look on Twilight Sparkle's face made Discord's smile linger. "That... that's incredible." She blinked a few times, then looked over to his talons. "Move it back by about a thousand years. Keep going until the Tree of Harmony disappears from the Everfree."
"As you wish, your pushiness," said Discord, moving the slider slightly further.
Twilight's slider lengthened a little. Starting at the rightmost edge, she began to slide it slowly to the left. First, the Tree reappeared. Then the Map began to zoom in—but everywhere at once.
"Equestria is shrinking," she stated the obvious. She stopped the slider at the far side and let go. "This is the history the Pillar Bearers remember, except that... the Tree is still here and supposedly they created it?"
"Limbo can have that kind of effect on a pony's mind," said Discord. "Their memories are all woofed-up, even Star's. Pity, that. He was once the brightest among us."
"Our history books coincide with a static Equestria and a recent Tree. The other side of the woof axis shows a shrunken Equestria and an older Tree. Which one is the correct version of history?"
Discord sighed and released the slider, snapping the Map back to the present. "Two dimensions, Twilight. Use that oversized brain of yours."
"They're... both true?"
"You have no idea how much I want to set off loud alarm bells and whistles right now," said Discord, smiling more broadly than his face. "But our meeting needs to remain a secret. Celie would murder me if she knew I were revealing this to you."
"Come on. She can't harm you. She couldn't even stop you when you broke free from your stone prison," said Twilight.
"You don't understand the full extent of her powers, Twilight," said Discord. "There's a big difference between 'couldn't' and 'wouldn't'. Do you really think your idol is as useless as a wooden frying pan? Always falling apart the moment a challenger to Equestria rises?"
"But s-she... I, I..." Twilight stammered, suddenly gripped with an aching pain in her stomach.
"Oh, for Chaos's sake—she did it for you ," said Discord. "You're young , Twilight. You were born twenty-four years ago, by any woof. You aren't going to understand everything in the world in twenty-four years, but Celestia has done everything in her power to strengthen you in that short period of time. There's still a lot you aren't privileged to, and for that you should be thankful."
"I shouldn't be looking into this at all, should I? I don't have any idea what I'm messing with," said Twilight. "I don't understand any of this. Maybe I can't understand it, at least not yet. Multiple correct histories—an entire dimension of them? How does that make any sense at all?"
"Just as warp comes in Past and Future, woof comes in Verity and Reality," said Discord, suddenly dressed in a tweed jacket and holding a bubble pipe. "The right-hoof side of the woof slider is Reality, the more boring of the two. That's the history your silly science and books and memory agree with. The left-hoof side is Verity. You can think of it as the history of history. It represents what history used to look like, which far better explains why the world is the way it is."
"Wait... I think I get it now," said Twilight. "As time moves forward, history itself changes... but why?"
"Because everything changes, Twilight, even change itself. Chaos is the nature of all things, the arrow of Time, the essence of life! History has to change, or the subsequent changes to reality wouldn't make any sense... not that making sense isn't overrated, mind you."
"Changes to reality? " said Twilight, and then she gasped. "Oh no. That's why the stars started moving! They actually started moving!"
"Science itself changed along with the nature of reality. Things became more complex over time, and history adjusted itself accordingly. The alterations to reality are irreversible ; such is the nature of Chaos."
"But that would mean that science itself isn't trustworthy. Everything we've ever known could be wrong!" Twilight began to hyperventilate, falling backwards into Pinkie Pie's throne.
"On the contrary," said Discord, with a nervous expression. "Science gets more accurate as time goes on. Increasing complexity means more consistent measurement, ironically enough. But it also means reality is stranger, to compensate."
Twilight took a moment to calm herself, and coughed a few times. "Relativity. Quantum physics. The further we go, the stranger it gets." She closed her eyes and placed a hoof to her temple. "I... I need time to digest all of this, Discord. It's too much for me. It's just too much."
"Believe it or not, I'm sorry," said Discord, and Twilight opened her eyes to see a uncharacteristically sympathetic stare coming from the draconequus. "I knew this would be hard on you, but you are possibly the only pony in Equestria capable of assimilating this knowledge so quickly."
"I appreciate your help, but why? Why are you doing this if you think I'm going to destroy Quifons?" asked Twilight, standing back up on four hooves.
"That would take a while to explain. The short version is that I don't think I can prevent whatever will happen from occurring, and... ugh, I really don't want to say it."
"Say what?"
"Fine! I... trust you," he said, his face turning green and cheeks bulging out as though ready to vomit. Discord shook his head rapidly back to normal. "Whatever happens, I believe the future will be best if you proceed with your eyes open as wide as possible. You have an innocence that the others lack, and you have Equestria's long-term interests at heart—even my interests, moreso than Celie, Lulu, Amore, Star, or the uglier half of Scorprek."
"You don't trust Cadence?"
"I've never understood Amore," said Discord. "But the main problem is she's too close to Celie. Besides, I'm uncertain she even remembers she's one of the Twelve."
"You don't think I should tell her or Lulu—I mean Princess Luna."
Discord shrugged. "It's your call, but I wouldn't dare tell anypony who might share the information with Princess Sunbutt. And under NO circumstance should you reveal you got any of this from me."
"But maybe that's exactly what we should be doing. Get the remaining Twelve together and decide as a team. I know Celestia removed Moondancer's memories, but surely she'd listen to reason if we laid out all the cards."
Discord glowered at Twilight. "Now you listen to me very closely, Twilight. Celie is the only member of the Twelve who hasn't been altered or banished or imprisoned for a lengthy span of time," he said. "She's used to being in control, and she's more powerful than any of her siblings. Celie allowed most of the major attacks on Canterlot to occur in order to train you. Chrysalis isn't one of the Twelve—long story, that one—so she never posed a true threat, and even when Tirek imprisoned her temporarily she had foreknowledge that Harmony would intervene to defeat him. You've never tried to act against Celie's true interests before. Watch yourself."
Twilight sighed and placed a hoof over her face. "Okay, I'll be careful. One more question, though: who is Ghost?"
She removed her hoof, but Discord was already gone.
Twilight Sparkle sat with Princess Cadance at an outdoor cafe in the Crystal Kingdom.
"I keep getting the strangest feeling like I'm being watched," said Twilight.
"Mm-hmm," said Cadance, between sips of tea.
"Wait... this isn't real. I'm dreaming," said Twilight.
"Mm-hmm," said Cadance.
An earthquake shook the cafe, and the sensation jolted Twilight awake.
"Twilight, wake up!" said Spike, jostling her in her bed.
"Wha... Spike? What's going on?" said Twilight, sitting upright and pushing her little assistant away.
"Message from the Crystal Kingdom. I didn't think it could wait," he said.
Then Twilight Sparkle noticed the look on Spike's face. "Oh no. What's wrong?"
"It's Princess Cadance. She's fallen into a coma."
A scintillating cascade of color and light filtered in through the windows of the vaulted room. Twilight Sparkle discourteously trotted through an abstract, colorful shadow of herself as the light outside began to dim from cloud cover. The image that briefly refracted upon her hooves illustrated one of the many times she and her companions had saved Equestria through the magic of friendship.
"Hello, Princess! You called for me?" asked Twilight. She slowed her pace to a walk as she approached to a comfortable speaking distance.
Princess Celestia's glowing alicorn mantle billowed gently through her mane as she smiled down at her former student. "I heard you were visiting friends in Canterlot, so I thought the time was right. I have somepony very special for you to meet," she said, in a tone of voice Twilight found unusually soft. "Please say hello to my new personal student, Amethyst Eclipse."
Twilight looked around the empty throne room. "Has she mastered invisibility magic already?" she joked, wearing a grin.
Celestia laughed. "Not that I'm aware of, no. He is just a little shy." She craned her neck first behind her, then beneath her. "You can come out, Amethyst. Twilight's a good friend. She was my previous student."
A tiny little colt with a dusty rose coat and a short, messy mane of dark violet curls poked his head out from between Celestia's front legs. He stared up at her like a deer caught in a flashlight, and Celestia pushed him forward a little with a wing.
"Hello there Amethyst Eclipse! My name is Twilight Sparkle. I'm very pleased to meet you." Twilight reached out her hoof.
Amethyst shuddered as though somepony had pressed the reset button on his brain, then he slowly stepped out from beneath Celestia. His haunch was still blank, which came as no surprise to Twilight given how young he looked. "You're Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship," he said in a matter-of-fact voice, then extended a tiny hoof. "You were Princess Celestia's student too?"
"Yes! And it was a lot of fun. Lots of hard work, but very rewarding," said Twilight. She raised her gaze to meet Celestia's. "I think it's a great idea to take on a colt. He might not be able to reach apotheosis, but that shouldn't be an obstacle. Star Swirl the Bearded is an incredible wizard, and he's a stallion."
"Be careful, Twilight. He knows some pretty large words," Celestia whispered to her former student. "Probably not that one, but still."
Twilight Sparkle nodded and grimaced. "Sorry," she whispered back.
"What are you two talking about?" asked the colt.
"Oh, just boring adult stuff. About the far future," said Twilight, blushing as she idly fiddled at the floor with a rear hoof.
"Eclipse has remarkable potential, Twilight. We should discuss his abilities in more depth soon, one-on-one," said Celestia. "As for the far future? Just because something hasn't been done doesn't mean it can't be done. One never knows what destiny has in store, " she added, staring directly into Eclipse's eyes as she emphasized the last sentence.
Twilight Sparkle recognized that Celestial behavior as a teaching . Eclipse had a mildly sour expression on his face, and Twilight could feel tension hanging in the air.
"You know Eclipse, I think I've seen you once before," said Twilight, trying to her best to redirect the conversation. "Wait, I remember—you're from Ponyville! You're Amethyst Star's foal, right?"
The colt nodded but kept his mouth shut.
"Your mother is an expert organizer! She used to do most of the organization before I came to Ponyville. I'm not surprised she had such a talented foal," she said, then whispered to Celestia again. "You chose a colt and a Ponyville pony from the working class? Wow, that's really neat! I hope it works out."
"I realize I'm crossing several barriers at once, but I should have been more open to this long ago. Besides, I'm not exaggerating. Much like a certain purple filly I recently took under my wing, Eclipse is gifted enough that it would be dangerous not to mentor him," she whispered back. Twilight's face blanched for a moment.
"You guys are doin' it again," said Eclipse, punctuating the complaint with a sigh.
"I'm very sorry, Eclipse," said Celestia. "I was just telling Twilight about how talented you are, and I didn't want it to go to your head. We're done whispering now."
"Oh. Okay," he said. "But, I know I'm good already, so you can say it out loud."
Twilight giggled. "I'd love to see what you can do, Eclipse! If that's okay?" she said, looking back up to Celestia.
Celestia nodded, causing an extra ripple to flow through her gently undulating mane. "I'd like that, but I'll leave it up to him. Do you mind taking Eclipse back to his quarters, Twilight? You two can get to know each other on the way. He's staying with his mother in the guest room Rarity used last year."
Twilight Sparkle nodded eagerly and the pair walked out into the castle hallway.
"Oh, I have so many questions!" said Twilight Sparkle, a silly grin slowly crossing her muzzle. "I mean, if that's okay with you?"
Eclipse nodded and smiled. It looked painfully forced.
Twilight skipped a step in glee. "Okay. First and foremost, how did Princess Celestia discover your abilities?" said Twilight.
"Not s'poseda say," said the colt.
Twilight's cheeks burned from sheer interest. "Oh, I see. Um, that must be an amazing story, then..."
"Not really," said the colt, "but I'm not s'poseda say."
Twilight nodded and smiled sheepishly. "Right, right, I'm sorry. Curiosity getting the better of me there."
'Not amazing' somehow makes not knowing even worse! thought Twilight.
The pair of ponies exited the castle and walked toward the building holding Eclipse's guest quarters. Cloudsdale had planned a thunderstorm for Canterlot later today. Several pegasi were busy setting dark clouds into place.
"Well, you have a lot to look forward too. You're going to learn so much about magic!" Twilight bubbled.
"I guess how to use it and stuff? Not really magic, like, itself," he said with a shrug. "I already know what magic is, I mean."
Twilight chuckled. "Right, of course. There's still a lot to learn about magic theory, though, and to be technically accurate, nopony really knows what magic is. That's one of the reasons it's so difficult to study. Except, of course, we know that friendship is magic," she said. "You know, I have a friend in town here named Moondancer. I should put her in touch with you. She's a mare my age, but she's very interested in magic, so with Celestia's permission she might be able to help you with your studies. You should probably make friends your own age, though. The one thing I wish I'd done when I was Celestia's student was make some friends..."
The colt stopped on the sidewalk and stared into the distance.
"Um... Eclipse? Do you see something? We should probably get there before it rains." Twilight clenched her jaw muscles a couple of times. Even for his age, Celestia's newest student was proving abnormally difficult to read. Internally, Twilight wondered why. He might have mild autism, or recent psychological trauma, or maybe he's just... well, for lack of a better word, 'weird'?
"It can rain. I can make an umber-ella," said Eclipse. Twilight's jaw muscles released, causing her mouth to hang open momentarily.
A foal this young, intentionally forming a shield? Princess Celestia wasn't kidding—he truly does have potential, she thought.
Twilight Sparkle promptly forgot why they'd stopped in the middle of the street, her mind buzzing with the need to discover whether or not his claim was actually true. "Could... could I see? Just for a moment," she asked, trying in vain to hide the skepticism from her face.
Eclipse said nothing as he closed his eyes in concentration. His aura coalesced around his horn, sputtering with the intermittent static common to young foals attempting magic. His horn glowed silvery-gray, a rare aura color Twilight was fairly certain she'd never seen before. After some squinting and grunting from the colt, she was about to let him off the hook—but just then, a loud burst of magic energy filled the air. Hovering above their heads was a shimmering silver aura, given substance in the shape of a narrow spherical cap.
Twilight was stunned. The amazing thing was how large the shield was. It covered Twilight and Eclipse, with room enough to spare for another two adult ponies... a remarkable feat for most unicorns, let alone a young foal.
"Wow, I'm really impressed!" said Twilight Sparkle. "You've developed an amazing degree of skill for your age, Eclipse."
"Thanks," said Eclipse, and he started walking again. The shield moved with them as they walked. "Anyway, I was thinkin'. I might be able to tell you, 'cause you're a princess. If you're like Celestia, I mean," he said.
"Oh! Well, I don't think I'm half the princess that Celestia is, but I try to measure up to her as well as I can." A touch of smugness lifted Twilight's words.
"You're a hero and all, you know? You've saved Equestria a bunch of times, so, thanks," he said. "That's good, 'cause it means I can grow up and learn magic."
"You're welcome! So... do you think I qualify to hear a secret or two?" said Twilight, the eagerness in her voice apparent as they walked up the steps to the building.
When they reached the doorway, Amethyst Eclipse cancelled the shield and turned to look at Twilight, starting at the neck and slowly craning his head upward until their eyes locked. "So, Princess Twilight, um, I don't like you? But that don't matter. I just gotta ask you somethin' first," he said.
"Oh... Y-yeah, go for it," said Twilight. She tried to smile as she felt her heart breaking. What?! He just called me a hero! Was it something I said? How in Equestria could a magically talented foal like this one not 'like' the Princess of Friendship?
The colt looked nervously left and right, then motioned for Twilight to lower her head. "Do you remember Quifons ?" he whispered in her ear.
Twilight paused in thought, then spoke quietly, but a little above a whisper so she didn't need to lean down. "That intonation sounds familiar... do you mean 'qui fons'? That's Lopin, I'm certain. It means... Huh. I guess I'm not sure," she admitted, wrinkling her nose. "I mean, the word 'qui' is highly contextual in Lopin. It can mean dozens of things, just for a few examples: 'at any price', 'something', or 'how'. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what 'fons' means, offhoof, so I can't even tell you what the 'qui' means. I'm afraid my Lopin is a little rusty."
"That's right, but I mean the place ."
Twilight Sparkle paused in thought. "I've never even heard of it. I guess I've never been there," said Twilight. She bit at one side of her lip, bracing for him to like her even less.
"No, you have. Long time ago," he said. He grabbed the door handle behind him with his magic without even looking at it, and opened the door.
"So, where is this 'Quifons' place, Eclipse?" asked Twilight, the uncertainty in her voice unmistakeable. Is this just the overactive imagination of a foal? Is he tormenting me because he doesn't like me? Beads of perspiration began to appear on her forehead.
"Ah, nuts. I guess it's just Celestia and Luna," said Eclipse, ignoring the question. "Prob'ly 'cause they're real old. I'm not s'posed to talk about it since you don't know." He sighed and drooped his head. "Sorry. Just forget I said anything."
Twilight only half-listened, searching in her mind for something—anything—that might elevate her in the eyes of the gifted little pony. "Well, Celestia will probably tell me anyway, I mean, she's never hidden anything from me before," she said, her voice cracking. "Okay, well, um... I suppose she has for my own good once or twice, b-but still, I'm sure if I question her directly—"
"Mom's not here now, but you shouldn't come in," said Amethyst Eclipse, stepping through the threshold and turning around again to face Twilight. "Princess Celestia won't believe me, but I know something that's gonna happen soon. You're gonna ruin Quifons," he predicted. "You'll wreck it, and you don't even know what it is. It's... sad ." He stared at the floor and shook his head dismissively. Before Twilight could say anything in response, Eclipse slammed the door in her face. With perfect timing, the downpour began.
Twilight Sparkle stood in the rain for a minute or two, just staring at the closed door. She forgot to put up her own umbrella, but this way nopony else caught in the downpour would know if she was crying.
Even Twilight herself wasn't certain whether tears were falling, but that was okay. In very rare cases, some things are better left unknown, she thought to herself as she turned toward the train station. Afraid to approach Celestia or Luna without knowing more, there was only one pony she could think of who might be able to help her.
One zebra , to be precise.
Starlight Glimmer listened to her former mentor's story, staring in wide-eyed wonder the entire time.
"...and then I came straight here," concluded Twilight Sparkle, slumping forward in her chair. She nervously triple-checked that she was levitating the water glass before taking a drink, even though it in no way resembled the large ornate flask of white goo currently sitting several meters away on her castle library's bookshelf.
"Wow. Just... wow. Okay, I'm still digesting this," said Starlight. "I think you glossed over something important, though. Why exactly are we not going directly to Princess Celestia about this?"
Twilight sighed. "I know that would probably be the wisest choice, but what if she refuses to answer any of our questions? We might never learn what this Quifons thing is! I can't live with that kind of anxiety," she said. "Until I run out of reasonable options, I don't want to go to her unless I can be certain she won't flip out. There's a lot of research we can do here that isn't going to destroy Equestria, or Quifons, or or anywhere else for that matter."
"She wouldn't keep it a secret forever, Twilight. I mean, you already know about it, so what else can she do but let you in on the truth? Besides, you're a princess yourself," said Starlight. "It's not like she outranks you anymore, even if she's dozens of times older."
Twilight shook her head. "I don't think you understand. The fact that Princess Celestia is so old affects her outlook on things. She operates on a different timescale than you or I do, Starlight. Waiting a hundred years is nothing for her," she said. "Denying us the right to learn what Quifons is, or finding a way to stop our research altogether... those options are definitely on her table."
Starlight pulled her lips inward for a moment. "I still don't like this. If the foal is right, this has all the hallmarks of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Maybe we should at least ask Princess Luna, then? She seemed opposed to keeping this a secret in that drug-induced flashback of yours, and whenever it happened, it wasn't nearly as long ago for her."
"Every prophecy has the hallmarks of a self-fulfilling prophecy, Star! If the prophecy is true, then I can't do anything to prevent it. Sitting around twiddling my hooves could just as easily end up being the thing that harms this Quifons place," argued Twilight. "You and I both have experience with the vagaries of spacetime. I've been in a closed timelike curve before where my attempt to not do anything was exactly the thing perpetuating the loop! I drove myself crazy with anxiety and sleep deprivation for several days, then in that altered state of consciousness I made the inevitable mistake that closed the loop."
"Right, your first invocation of the original time-travel spell. We've dissected that scenario multiple times before," said Starlight. "Okay, so, it might be unavoidable, in which case it doesn't matter what we do. And if the prophecy is false, it's no more likely to come true at all, so it still doesn't matter. But there's a third possibility, which is substantial: the prediction could be conditional in some way. If it can be avoided, sitting around and twiddling your hooves is still the best instinct to trot with."
"Ugh. I'm not going looking to cross dimensions or cast wild magic spells I've never seen before. I just want to do a little basic scientific research to figure this out. Eventually we'll go to Celestia, obviously," said Twilight. "Besides, based on Amethyst Eclipse's sullen mood and his lack of attempt at an intervention, if his prediction is correct then there's probably nothing anypony can do to prevent it."
"As much as I think keeping this to ourselves is a bad idea, I'm dying to know what all of it means, too. I guess I'm in. For the record, I've never heard of this Quifons place either, but in Lopin 'fons' means 'source', so it probably means 'the source' or 'priceless source' or something along those lines."
"I was about to look it up. Your translation makes some sense given that Quifons seems to be a place foals know about, but 'source' is still awfully vague," said Twilight. "Maybe Quifons has something to do with the source of magic?"
Starlight smiled, but her voice fell to a whisper. "I was thinking the same thing! Do you realize what this might mean?" She stared off into space as she spoke, licking her lips. "There's something more to magic! I always suspected there might be logical reasons that explain what magic truly is and precisely where it comes from. We don't even have a field theory to explain it like we do with light."
"I feel the same way, Starlight, but you and I have both studied magic to pieces already. Every textbook on the subject says the same thing: magic is scientific, but its true source is unknown and widely believed to be mathematically incomprehensible," said Twilight.
"The textbooks you've read."
"Yes."
"And Celestia said she was blocking research on magic."
"Yes..."
"Twilight, we can't trust textbooks anymore."
Twilight Sparkle froze in place. Her face made it look like her brain had snapped while staring at a cockatrice.
"It's okay, Twilight," said Starlight Glimmer, standing to give her friend a quick hug.
"I... I can't trust books? " said Twilight, her lower lip quivering as she leaned backwards in her chair, limply accepting the contact.
"Well, you can't fully trust anything , to be fair. Not even your own senses. I learned that a long time ago," said Starlight, before returning to her seat. "Although, I suppose you've taught me that you can trust a true friend. Recursive thanks for that, by the way."
"But, but... How do you even read , Starlight?"
"Uh, well, I assume sometimes data contain mistakes?" She shrugged. "I mean, come on, Twi, you've read books with errors in them before, right?"
"Well, obviously. But not intentional falsehoods in textbooks! Textbooks are special, Starlight. They're supposed to be authoritative sources," said Twilight Sparkle, and a small whimpering sound escaped her throat. "This, this... it's making me question everything I know, and I have no way to safely and selectively decorporate information I've learned through book study! Even if the misinformation is limited to astronomy and magic theory, I'm bound to be making assumptions I shouldn't..."
"That's unavoidable, yeah. So, maybe you're right. It's the potion we shouldn't trust."
Twilight winced. "No, I trust the potion. The experience was too weird for even my imagination to fabricate," she said, shaking her head. "Alright, let's focus. Do you have any ideas on how to study magic in greater depth?"
"Only an inkling. Like you, I assume, I thought I already knew everything there was to know about manaphysics," said Starlight. "I do have an idea, however. You're probably familiar with that large history museum in Manehattan, I forget the name—the one with a large History of Magic section."
"Yes, I know the one. Why would we... the device! " said Twilight, slapping a hoof soundly against the table as she briefly grinned. "I know exactly where you're going with this."
Starlight nodded and smiled back. "Mana detection instruments fell out of vogue more than a millennium ago, once ponies 'realized' that mana examination was inherently inaccurate. Like quantum physics, but worse," she said. "It supposedly ruins the mana flow of the area if you even attempt to gauge it, which is a convenient way to keep experiments out of graduate education."
"This is so interesting. I actually approached Celestia about that exact issue, shortly prior to graduation. I thought young entrants to the School should at least see what the effect of measuring mana is firsthoof, because that's kind of an essential piece of magic theory. Like, we could go on a camping trip and do it somewhere where the mana could repair itself without consequence. But she said it was too dangerous, and warned me never to try it on my own," said Twilight. Then she broke into another grin. "Obviously, your idea is that we could study the old manamomonometer device from the museum's display on ancient technology and replicate it, then test to see if it actually works!" She paused for a moment. "I still can't believe 'manamomonometer' is an actual word. Anyway, it's a brilliant idea, Starlight."
Starlight smiled sheepishly. "Thanks. Although, I was actually thinking 'borrow' rather than 'build', since I don't know if merely seeing the device will give us sufficient data to construct one," she said. "Borrow for a short time, I mean, that's all. We can replace it with a replica so nopony will know. It's not like it sees use. Rarity and Applejack should be able to make a flawless model in no time if they work together."
Twilight Sparkle stared at her former protege while wearing a frown. "Wait, nopony will know? That implies the curators won't know, either..." she said, and her voice faded out.
"Yes, that's the idea. I'm pretty sure we don't want anypony to know we're engaged in forbidden research, Twilight," said Starlight, reaching out to her friend's shoulder with a hoof. "We can't afford to take unnecessary chances. The device isn't going to be well-guarded, and with our abilities, 'borrowing' it will be foalproof. My plan is much less of a risk."
Twilight turned her head to the side and stared out of the castle window. "Forbidden. That word feels so... wrong. We know the device has been used many times before, so a single test couldn't hurt anything—but should we really be engaging in forbidden research, even if it's clearly harmless?" she said softly, more to herself than her friend.
Starlight Glimmer patiently waited for the wheels to turn.
"...right, I can't help it either. I have to know," admitted Twilight, wearing a grimace on her muzzle as she looked back to her friend. "On the bright side, if I bring the topic up with Princess Celestia later I'll probably need a hole card. Knowing anything I'm not supposed to know would be one buck of a card. Er, pardon my Prench."
Starlight blushed, then coughed. "Um, yes. I agree. The leverage we gain from learning about Quifons would enable us to extract more of the missing information from Celestia. We might not even need that much data if we can bluff well enough, but every little bit will help," she said. "Anyway, I'll tell the other five Bearers and we'll get started."
"No, wait. Only tell Rarity. Describe the device, and see if she thinks she can make a facsimile by herself once she sees it in pony," said Twilight. "The rest of our friends should probably know we're looking into a mystery, but tell them the details need to be kept need-to-know because somepony could end up in trouble. You and Rarity can go to Manehattan without raising suspicion, and then she can make the replica in the backroom of her shop there. Since it's for show, she doesn't need to understand what she's making a copy of."
"What? Why not tell the others, Twilight?" asked Starlight, raising a brow.
"Look, I don't want anypony tainted with this knowledge unless they need to be. I didn't even tell Zecora all the details. If they don't know, they can't share in the blame if we get in trouble or something else goes South," said Twilight. "Even Rarity doesn't need to know why we need the device, she just has to keep it quiet," said Twilight. "That would limit awareness of the limits of this madness to the two of us, and to a lesser extent, Zecora."
"Don't forget Amethyst Eclipse," said Starlight.
"Ouch—I did, but I doubt he'll inform Celestia that he told me, since he knows he isn't supposed to. Do you think I could coax the secret out of him? I doubt Sparkler would be much help, because he probably hasn't shared this with an adult, even if she is his mom. Oh, Sparkler is his mom's nickname, her actual name is Amethyst Star. I don't know if you two have met," said Twilight. "She's actually pretty bright."
Spike cleared his throat noisily, and both mares looked toward the door. "Ah, nuts. I guess I should pretend I didn't hear any of the conversation you two have been carrying on over the past hour...?" he asked, tapping the tips of his index claws together. The little dragon cowered in place as though he'd done something wrong.
Twilight froze, but quickly recovered. "No, it's okay, Spike. As my personal assistant, you should be in the loop. Just keep it on the down-low, as Rainbow Dash would say. Okay?"
"I'm a vault," said Spike, making lip-zipping motions with his claws. "You ladies should close the door, though. Even though the library isn't open at the moment, your friends could pop by unexpectedly, not to mention Princess Celestia." He shut the door behind him and walked up to sit next to Twilight, who petted his head.
"He's right, we do need to be more careful than this," said Starlight. "Anyway, back to the discussion: I've only met Sparkler briefly at formal events, but she seems very nice. I doubt her son will be much help to us, though. The way you told your story it kind of sounded like he hates you for his prediction that you'll doom a place whose tiny holographic image entranced you beyond anything you can remember."
"I'll never forget it," whispered Twilight, staring straight through Starlight for a moment. "I... I don't know. Maybe Celestia is right and we shouldn't remember anything about it, lest it drive us mad with longing, or have some other negative psychological effect. It isn't normal for a tiny, blurry image of something to have this kind of effect on a pony's mind. But you're right, Sparkler's colt is seriously unhappy with me. I assume it's because of the prediction, but he's kind of weird, so who knows. A better plan might be to talk to some fillies and colts here, locally, and see if we can get one of them to squeal."
"I was thinking the same thing, but I'd rather do that in Manehattan while Rarity works," said Starlight. "I have some great compulsion spells that should spill the beans quickly, but in case an angry parent sees me casting them, I need to do it somewhere I can blend in and not be remembered."
Twilight Sparkle gasped. "Starlight!"
Again, Starlight Glimmer patiently waited for the wheels to turn.
"...okay. But only for this. Are we clear?" said Twilight.
"Translucent. No, wait, I mean transparent . I know you understand the difference," she said, with a wink.
Twilight couldn't stifle a giggle from emerging. It was rare for her to be able to dork out this much, and although Starlight carefully hid her eggheadedness, beneath the veneer the two friends weren't all that different. It was nice, and it reminded her of another pony she knew.
"Actually, I just had an idea. We should throw Moondancer in the loop. She'd love working on this, and she's the only unicorn I know on par with the two of us in terms of raw brainpower and scientific rigor. I can go see her while you and Rarity are in Manehattan, and come back to Ponyville when the 'heist' is complete," said Twilight, following up with a giggle. "Sorry—I rarely get to use the word 'heist' in a legitimate sentence."
Spike chuckled, but said nothing.
"I remember when you introduced me to her. Plus, I was carefully stalking you when you went to visit her the first time," said Starlight.
Twilight Sparkle seemed taken aback, then both ponies burst out laughing, followed moments later by Spike.
"Seriously, though, I was, and I could tell even then," Starlight continued. "Moondancer would be a perfect addition to the team. Why not bring her to Ponyville instead? That would make more sense, and for a bit of selfish motive, I'd like to get to know her better."
"We should definitely have a sit-down, but I'll need to meet her in Canterlot first. She's almost as much of an astronomy buff as I am, and I have an enormous telescope in my old house there that will come in handy," said Twilight. "I enjoy astronomy because—like magic theory—there's so much we don't understand. Nopony really knows why the sky looks and acts the way it does outside of pegasi areas. Moondancer is the only pony I can think of who might know more about the subject than I do. Not counting Princess Luna of course, but we can't ask her yet."
Starlight Glimmer nodded. "Right, that makes sense. You can go see her while I'm working the magic theory angle," she said. "Now, wasn't there something Celestia said about name magic?" asked Starlight.
"I think so, yes. That's undoubtedly what 'nomenmancy' means, but I don't have a clue to what it actually is. Proper names come up all the time in magic, because they can be used to bind targets... but you don't typically do magic with the names themselves. Maybe it's some kind of long distance synecdoche magic, or something like that," said Twilight. "It's useless to theorize at this point, and I don't even want to form firm conjectures when we haven't had time to brainstorm the possibilities. Let's both think on it for a while."
"Already on it. And, Twilight?"
"Yes?"
"Try not to destroy any amazing alternate dimensions of friendship and harmony, okay?" said Starlight Glimmer, with a wry grin.
Twilight rolled her eyes overdramatically.
"Seriously, though," added Starlight, "be careful, okay? This thing we're doing... it might be dangerous somehow." Her eyes held a soft shimmer.
"Yeah, Twilight—please don't do anything dangerous," said Spike. "Should I come with you?"
Twilight stood up and shook her head. "I think you'd be able to help Starlight out more, so work with her here," she said, and they all shared a warm embrace. "Don't worry, I'll be safe. I know the two of you will be, too."
Twilight Sparkle waved goodbye, grabbed her saddlebags by the door, and headed directly to the train station.
"I'm a little concerned by your recent Cutie Map mission," said Starlight Glimmer, chatting with Twilight Sparkle on the way to Maud's cavern.
Twilight picked up the pace to a trot. "You mean the fact that it sent me to Tartarus?"
"Not that," said Starlight, matching pace. "The Map sends us to friendship problems, without exception. Why would it send you to Tirek and then bring you back after a brief conversation? It doesn't make much sense."
"I was thinking about that, and I have a couple of theories. The first one is that the Cutie Map is somehow part of this Harmony person, and Harmony may have a personal stake in ensuring that we learn more about Quifons. We already have ample evidence that the Tree of Harmony is highly intelligent."
"That's sensible," said Starlight. "If there's an intelligent force behind it, the Cutie Map would certainly be capable of extending beyond a single purpose. I still don't like our data on the Map doing a one-eighty, though. What's theory number two?"
"I solved Tirek's friendship problem," said Twilight, shrugging. "Maybe it wasn't apparent, but talking to him may have been the catalyst needed to resolve a conflict between him and another of the Twelve. The Map called me back before the problem was fully resolved, but after I had done all that I needed to do."
Starlight huffed. "I don't like that hypothesis either. Resolving any friendship problem with Tirek would require a major change in his personality. I doubt it would even be possible, to be honest. Besides, it doesn't seem like you did anything to help him or anypony else."
"You're right. I think it's more likely the former theory," said Twilight. "Consider the fact that the Cutie Map has never sent us to Tartarus before, or to anyplace off of the main map. This was already a special case."
"Maybe," said Starlight, as the pair slowed down and walked into Maud's cave. "I'd still feel better if we knew more about Harmony. We should make that a priority the next time we speak with Princess Luna or Discord."
Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer sat on a mossy patch as Twilight finished a brief update. "That's pretty much all that's happened, though I've left out some of the details. We're curious about Rockhoof. Was anything out of the ordinary during your visit?"
"Rockhoof knows rocks," said Maud Pie. "I would have stayed longer, but I learned something I needed to share with you."
"What's that?" asked Twilight, shifting and reshifting how she sat against the moss.
"It's strange. He knows all about geology, except for one major detail. He had never heard of or seen a metamorphic rock before," she replied. "On a related note, he was also unfamiliar with fossil fuels."
"Not knowing about fossil fuels isn't that unusual. We didn't use them much a thousand years ago," said Starlight.
"It's more than that. He had never heard of anything resembling oil or natural gas. Those substances have been known since antiquity, even if their use wasn't widespread," said Maud. "I know a thousand years is a long time, but it isn't that long."
"Maybe he just had no personal encounters with them?" said Twilight. "He lived near a volcano, but he might not have traveled much. Education back then was mostly word-of-mouth."
Maud shook her head. "Rockhoof had never heard of a tar pit before. There are tar pits near where he lives that are millions of years old. And being one of the original Pillar Bearers, Rockhoof traveled all over Equestria. There's no chance he wasn't aware of them."
"What do you think this means?" asked Starlight.
"I don't know. But I don't think he's lying," said Maud.
Twilight nodded. "I agree. He bears the Pillar corresponding to Applejack's Element, so I can't imagine him being dishonest. Any other ideas?"
"At first I thought he was missing memories. Rockhoof says that Star Swirl the Bearded is missing most of his memories after spending so much time in Limbo, but he didn't seem to think any of the other ancient Bearers had been affected," said Maud. "Star Swirl's missing memories are event-related, meaning things that happened to him. Rockhoof is only missing fact-related memories."
"Episodic and semantic memory," corrected Twilight. "Those kinds of memories are distinct, both in how they are encoded and in how they react with magic—not to mention how likely they are to be affected by physical brain trauma. It doesn't make sense that Limbo would affect two individuals that differently."
"Especially since the memory loss is so selective in Rockhoof," said Starlight. "He really doesn't sound like somepony suffering from retrograde amnesia."
"I'm a little concerned about Star Swirl's memory loss, but that's a separate issue," added Twilight. "Either way, I'm wary to talk to him since I know he's one of the Twelve now."
"The Twelve?" asked Maud.
"One of the details Twilight skipped. It implies he's very old," said Starlight. "I'll get you a copy of Twilight's latest report once she finishes it."
"So far we know the Twelve include Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Star Swirl the Bearded, Discord, somepony called Theia who used to exist, Lord Tirek, and somepony called Harmony who apparently is part of the Cutie Map now—probably part of the Tree itself," said Twilight. "That's about all we know so far. Oh, and Tirek implied that many if not most ponies are 'on Theia', whatever that means."
"We really need to talk to Discord," said Starlight. "He's quirky, but I'm sure he'll be more forthcoming than Tirek."
"It's useless to call out for Discord unless I know he's listening," said Twilight, "in which case he'd be showing up right now anyway."
All three ponies waited through a pregnant pause.
"I guess he isn't listening," said Maud. "Where does he live?"
"In the middle of Chaos," said Twilight. "But he might not be home, and it would be rude to show up unannounced. The right approach would be to ask Fluttershy to contact him, or send him a letter."
"Well, there's plenty to do in the interim. Thanks for your work, Maud," said Starlight.
Maud nodded. "No problem. I may go talk to Rockhoof again later, but I'll wait to see what you learn first."
"Sounds good," said Twilight. Then she stood up and turned to her former protege. "Manamomonometer time?"
Starlight stood up and grinned. "Manamomonometer time. But where should we go that's isolated enough?"
"I have just the place," said Maud.
"I don't want to damage any part of Equestria, but if we're going to cause damage it might as well be to the edge of Ghastly Gorge," said Twilight Sparkle.
"Ghastly Gorge is already dangerous," said Maud, pointing to a quarray eel peeking out of a hole in the distance. "Maybe you should limit your tests."
"I don't think the tests will be dangerous," said Starlight. "In the worst case, the mana field here will be temporarily inaccessible. We wouldn't be able to cast spells in this area for a short time."
Twilight pulled the device out of her saddlebags, into which it had barely fit. It resembled a spring scale with no hanging hook. She rested it on a rock.
"How does it work?" asked Maud.
"Supposedly, we twist this knob on the side, and it will siphon mana into it. That will send this rod out the bottom, and the mark on the inside will point to the mana level of the area."
Twilight cleared her throat. "Here goes everything," she said, then twisted the knob.
Nothing happened.
"This isn't as exciting as I'd imagined," said Maud.
"Well, that's definitely how it should work. Wait," said Starlight, and she levitated the device briefly with her magic. "There's obviously mana here. It's just sitting there at zero."
Twilight took the device into her hooves and tugged on the rod. "It feels like it's on a spring, which makes sense, but it isn't reacting." She sighed. "Maybe it's so old it's broken. We might need to take it apart to find out how it works. I can't understand why there aren't diagrams of this in historical records."
Starlight Glimmer narrowed her eyes. "Twilight, where's the mana crystal?" she asked.
Twilight inspected the device. "I'm not sure. It must be hidden within the housing or on the back side of the rod."
"The rod twists freely. It would have to be hidden inside the device," said Starlight. "I think we should X-ray this thing."
"It'd be a good first step," said Twilight, switching the device 'off'. "Why don't you go do that. I have some research to do in the library."
Spike met Twilight at the door to the castle. "Twilight! You need to see this," he said. Twilight quickly entered and set her saddlebags down, and Spike led her into the throne room.
Quifons was visible. Trixie's anti-magic cloak had been removed from it and was resting on Fluttershy's throne.
"Spike! I told you to keep that hidden," said Twilight, shielding her eyes. "Wait, why aren't you transfixed by it?"
"Oh, that. I decided to test how powerful it was. I stared at Quifons for a few minutes, and I got used to it," he said. "It's still pretty, but it's not overwhelming."
"Interesting," said Twilight, removing her hoof and staring at the hologram of the sparkly mist. "I must have partially habituated to it after my initial vision. Starlight couldn't look away, but I can manage to do it with effort. Either way, it's distracting. We should cover it up."
"No, wait!" said Spike. "That's what I wanted to show you. Look at this." Spike pointed to a shimmering line that ran most of the length of the map extension's inside rim.
"Huh? Oh, now this is interesting. It looks like the discoloration we manipulated to open the Map's missing wings," said Twilight.
"Exactly. I was hoping you could test it," said Spike. "One side has a bright dot on it, see?"
"Like a sliding marker." Twilight grabbed the dot with her magic and pulled it slowly across the inside rim of the wing, and the map on the table began to change. The first thing Twilight noticed was the disappearance of Appleloosa and Our Town. Then Ponyville began to shrink. Twilight moved the slider faster, and Ponyville disappeared. Canterlot began to shrink, and the Everfree began to grow. Then Canterlot disappeared, and a city appeared in the middle of the Everfree around the freshly restored Castle of the Two Sisters.
"It's going backwards in time," said Twilight. "The Cutie Map lets us look into the past! This is amazing!"
"What's that?" said Spike, pointing to the inner rim of the Tartarus wing. A similar, smaller slider had appeared.
Twilight moved the Quifons slider back and forth a little, watching the slider on Tartarus grow and shrink respectively. "It seems to appear when I start moving the Map backwards through time," said Twilight. She released the Quifons slider and it snapped back to the present. "It won't let me hold both at the same time. I guess I need another mage if I want to manipulate both of them, but the sliders are easier to activate than the wings. Any unicorn should be able to do it."
"Aren't you going to—" said Spike, but Twilight had already grabbed the time slider again and started moving it backwards. Halfway through the slider the Tartarus slider had expanded to full length, and began to contract again.
"Everything is blurry," said Twilight, motioning to the map. "It seems that this middle portion of the slider is moving through time millions of times faster. There aren't any people back this far, though, so there are no civilizations to examine." The land masses shifted and changed repeatedly, with mountains rising and falling. Eventually all the green disappeared, leaving behind a mass of brown and blue. Then the blue dried up, leaving nothing but bumpy brown terrain. Near the end of the slider, the brown turned orange, then became a field of lava, as did Tartarus. Finally, at the very end of the slider, the Tartarus slider disappeared again, and everything became Quifons—also including Tartarus.
"Wow," said Spike. "Everything used to be Quifons? And then it was lava, or something?"
"Apparently," said Twilight. "I have no idea why. Geology suggests that all rocks used to be molten at some point, but we didn't know if it was cyclic or if the world itself was lava. I guess now we know, assuming we trust the Map."
"I wonder where all the water came from, then," said Spike.
"Spike, this is an amazing tool for researching history. It may not prove anything by itself, but we can use the Map to give us clues on what geologists and equuiologists should look for. Maud needs to know about this," said Twilight, releasing the slider and allowing the hologram to snap back to the present.
"Yeah, but I think not destroying Quifons is still our main priority," said Spike.
Twilight was busy researching in the library when Fluttershy walked in. "Oh, hello Twilight. Is this a good time?" she asked.
Twilight pulled her nose out of the book she was looking at and stood up. "Yes! I'm interested in what you were able to learn from Meadowbrook."
Fluttershy nodded and took off her saddlebags. "Quite a bit, actually. She certainly has a good array of healing knowledge. But..."
"But?"
"Some of her cures no longer work, even though she swears they used to work wonders. I had to update her on pony physiology. She was still an adherent to the 'four humors' theory of biology," said Fluttershy.
"What kind of cures no longer work?"
"Leeches, humor balancing, and um, er..." said Fluttershy, blushing. "Enema interventions."
Twilight's brow wrinkled. "Those shouldn't have ever worked, Fluttershy. Did you update her on the placebo effect?"
"I did, but it's more than placebo. Meadowbrook kept detailed notes of everypony she treated, the treatments she tried, and the result. She was able to eliminate tumors and cure advanced ailments."
"That's impossible," said Twilight. "There must have been something else going on coincidentally. But she knows they no longer work?"
"Oh, yes. She suspected as much, and I confirmed it for her," said Fluttershy. "Also, there's something else unusual. Twilight, was Equestria ever... 'smaller'?"
"The borders of the nation?"
"No, the physical earth that Equestria is part of."
Twilight shook her head. "No, and I can actually prove it now, assuming the Cutie Map isn't lying. I've seen what Equestria looked like a thousand years ago, not to mention millions of years ago."
"Oh, my. Well, Meadowbrook is convinced that distances are much larger now. Her swamp is three times as far from Canterlot as she remembers it, and it's several times larger, as well. That doesn't seem like something she would be mistaken on."
"Hmm. We know that Star Swirl's memories were affected by Limbo. Maybe it damaged the brains of the Pillar Bearers in a way we don't understand," said Twilight, as Fluttershy's eyes widened. "Did she seem forgetful at all?"
"No, not at all. She's sharp as a tack," said Fluttershy. "Oh, I hope nothing's wrong with her brain."
"This mystery keeps on getting curiouser. Maybe Moondancer can dig up something from the Crystal Kingdom Library," said Twilight. "The books there are old enough that some of these discrepancies should appear, assuming the Pillar Bearers are correct."
"Isn't there a restricted section of the Royal Canterlot Library?" asked Fluttershy. "With old books in it, I mean. I remember you telling us about it."
"There is, but I'm worried that Princess Celestia might find me there. I've considered telling Moondancer how to get in and sending her to look for me, but Celestia's just as suspicious of her now," said Twilight. "As much as I hate to admit it, right now I'm low on options. Could you ask Discord to meet with me?"
Fluttershy smiled. "I already did! We talked on my way back to Ponyville. He wanted me to pass along a message. He'll meet with you tonight in your bedroom at midnight. He also asked that you not tell anypony else in advance of the meeting."
"That's reassuring," said Twilight. "I guess I'll find something to do while I wait for him. I suppose I could use Rarity's help with the Cutie Map, since Starlight went to X-ray the manamomonometer then spend some time with Trixie."
"Spike just told me that Rarity is making a trip to Canterlot to check up on gossip," said Fluttershy. "She wants to find out what Princess Celestia has been up to lately."
Twilight Sparkle sighed. "Well, then I'm fresh out of unicorns. I suppose it will need to wait until tomorrow."
Twilight Sparkle lay in her bed, nervously looking up at the canopy.
"Seven hours until he shows up. What should I do in the meantime?" she said out loud. Turning her head to the side, she saw the potion sitting on her nightstand.
Zecora had cautioned her to limit her use of the potion, but she had so much left to know. The next question she wanted answered was burning in her mind like a dry hay fire.
Sitting up, she poured a slug of the fluid, took a deep breath, and downed it—focusing her thoughts on a single, clear question...
"Who are the Twelve?"
